The exposed nerves more sensitive than the last one economic maneuver there are two: the ICI-IMU on first homes and the stop to the automatic equalization of pensions. On these chapters the rapporteurs Pier Paolo Baretta (Pd) and Maurizio Leo (Pdl) could present a single amendment at the end of the work of the Budget Committee in the Chamber.
The hypotheses of modification are different. The first home tax could be reduced raising the deductible by 200 euros foreseen by the initial text. There is talk of a new ceiling of 300 or 400 euros within which to guarantee the exemption from payment. However, Leo even went as far as to hypothesize "a one-year postponement" - to 2013 - of the new levy. A more complex hypothesis is that of taking into account the actual value of individual homes, a mechanism that could allow luxury homes to be excluded from the deductible.
In any case, these are complex solutions to implement, because the Government's number one priority is keep the balances unchanged of the manoeuvre, and the ICI-IMU alone guarantees a revenue of around 3,8 billion. Raising the deductible by just 100 euros would cause between 1,4 and 1,8 billion to go up in smoke. However, the social risks are very high: according to the president of Istat, Enrico Giovannini, with the new levy approx 1,6 million citizens Italians would become at risk of poverty.
From this point of view, one aspect that should not be underestimated is the impact that the Imu could have on the savings generated by the choice of the flat rate coupon on rents. According to the first calculations, on average about a third of the money that until now the Italians managed to keep in their wallets would be eroded. But the calculation, of course, varies significantly according to income: for those who earn over 55 thousand euros a year, the loss would be relatively limited, while for the medium-low brackets the tax advantage could even evaporate by over 70%, making in some cases it is useless – if not downright disadvantageous – to choose the dry coupon.
Another hot topic related to the taxation of real estate is the lack of involvement of ecclesiastical properties, until now almost completely exempt from paying the ICI. Taxing Vatican-owned homes would bring something like three billion euros a year into the state's coffers, a figure that would considerably reduce the sacrifices required of Italian citizens. "It's a question we haven't asked ourselves yet", confessed the premier, Mario Monti, to journalists from the foreign press. Yet the most bitter controversy has already flared up on the subject. On the net, in the squares, in the newspapers and this point - perhaps - also in Parliament.
