As the title says: Where did all the posts go? There was a thread running which became quite interesting re. the economic climate and I can't see it anywhere. Neither can I see my own posts in that thread in my history.
Since utility bills are such a popular subject, I thought it may be useful to transcribe some information from my last ENEL bill for anyone trying to figure out just how & why they're being charged what they are for their electricity.
I just thought I'd add this as it may save some a fair bit of cash in fines/trouble.I was pulled over around 1 month ago by the Polizia. It was all very routine they said although I was driving a UK-registered car.
Good post Penny. I'd add to that to check with an accountant as to the lower tax rate available this year (2012) as a freelancer on the contributi minimi regime. I believe it could be 5% - but until I see it, I won't quite believe it. You simply won't be able to stay tax resident in the UK if you undertake any work in Italy and don't spend at least 90 days/year in the UK, and neither will the UK give you the S2 if you admit to working in Italy (been there & had a long fight and lost.) Your income from your UK property I believe will be taxed in Italy, but you should receive a tax credit from the UK for tax already paid. I'm not an accountant by any means, but we've jumped through a lot of hoops over the last few years sorting out a lot of this stuff and it really does pay to go armed to an accountant with lots of "I've heard that...." I do feel sorry for Italian Accountants are there are so many laws and they change so frequently that they simply don't have a hope of keeping up. If you give them something to go on however, they will go away and look it up.
I agree, it's laughable. In the UK for example, who would you even go to to register your stay? Equally, if you decided you wished to show someone your bank account statement, they'd probably refuse to look at it for fear of being accused of accessing private information ;) I remember talking to a friend who needed a student work VISA for a year in Australia. He got a loan from someone and paid it into his account and duly received his VISA when the Australian Embassy confirmed he had sufficient funds to support himself. Then he transferred it to his mate. A couple of weeks later, he got his VISA using the same cash - which they duly returned to its rightful owner. You might know that Italy would put great weight on seeing your bank statement too. I guess it keeps people in jobs. Am I right in thinking that if you leave the country for one night, you can then stay a further 3 months without registering your stay or did they build in some kind of average into the requirements?
If you've read Fingerprints of the Gods (which I absolutely loved), then you'll know it's the 23rd December we should be more worried about ;) Good post Sagraiasolar - here's hoping 'colder' winters = more blue sunny days = more PV income ;)
I would imagine that if it were purely because of the odd technical reason, then Fillide wouldn't be leaving. It's most-likely the 'straw that broke the camel's back' me thinks. Real pity though. Although I don't contribute a lot here - mostly since it switched to its current format, I check in and follow what's going on regularly. Fillide is one of the most valuable members & it's a real shame to see her go.
They prefer to use IBAN here. Have a good look at HiFX too as I have nothing but good things to say about them - the cash is normally deposited same/next day & we've never had fees charged at the Italian end. Best value is transferring in bulk (£5000 or more) but you only take a small hit on the exchange rate if you transfer smaller amounts. Well worth experimenting on their site with different amounts. I had written down the various loadings on the rates but can't find them at the mo.
Interesting debate - only time will tell :) It's a frustrating country to run a business in - completely anti-entrepreneurial. The world will leave Italy behind unless it wakes up to what is going on outside of its borders.
And to start a business in Italy Ugo, some sums for year 1: Profit €5000. Tax, INPS & Account payment for next year €4400. Accountancy Bill €800. er....which means that despite barely earning anything, you owe the goverment €200 and have nothing to live on. Hmm...Is it any wonder why noone wishes to start a business in Italy? That's hardly likely to stimulate the economy.
I very much doubt that the Pound will collapse. One thing about the British is that the majority will accept that there's a mountain to climb financially and they understand that they will have to pay a little more. I'm not so sure Italy will accept austerity, that everyone will happily pay their 'full' taxes & that the politicians will stop bleeding the country dry by lining their own pockets. I cannot believe just how many people are able to drive high end cars here when the 'effective' tax rates are as high as anywhere in Europe & far, far higher than the UK. It's a bit like Greece where there are more Porsche owners than people who 'declare' incomes of €50,000 or more.
Very true and house prices continue to be a lottery in Italy. At the end of the day, it's only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it and right now, with the Euro teetering on the brink of collapse, someone from outside the Eurozone could sink a load of cash into this only to find in years to come that it's worth 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 lira - about £25! Noone in their right mind is putting Sterling into Euro investments whilst these bankrupt economies continue to die an ever-more-likely slow death.
Parsnips are very easy for us. Our soil has only had a couple of years of improvement (manure) from being completely closed, compressed and rock hard solid clay. However, they're sewn directly and thinned out. Last year I shaded them a little but generally they're just left to their own devices. I wouldn't personally try and bring them on in seed trays etc first since they develop those long tap roots very early on and if you interfere with that, you're interfering with the shape of your parsnip. Here's a couple of images. The first shows a 'regular' sized parsnip against the monsters that we've produced. They're lovely and sweet despite their size.
Comments posted
Good post Penny. I'd add to that to check with an accountant as to the lower tax rate available this year (2012) as a freelancer on the contributi minimi regime. I believe it could be 5% - but until I see it, I won't quite believe it. You simply won't be able to stay tax resident in the UK if you undertake any work in Italy and don't spend at least 90 days/year in the UK, and neither will the UK give you the S2 if you admit to working in Italy (been there & had a long fight and lost.) Your income from your UK property I believe will be taxed in Italy, but you should receive a tax credit from the UK for tax already paid. I'm not an accountant by any means, but we've jumped through a lot of hoops over the last few years sorting out a lot of this stuff and it really does pay to go armed to an accountant with lots of "I've heard that...." I do feel sorry for Italian Accountants are there are so many laws and they change so frequently that they simply don't have a hope of keeping up. If you give them something to go on however, they will go away and look it up.
I agree, it's laughable. In the UK for example, who would you even go to to register your stay? Equally, if you decided you wished to show someone your bank account statement, they'd probably refuse to look at it for fear of being accused of accessing private information ;) I remember talking to a friend who needed a student work VISA for a year in Australia. He got a loan from someone and paid it into his account and duly received his VISA when the Australian Embassy confirmed he had sufficient funds to support himself. Then he transferred it to his mate. A couple of weeks later, he got his VISA using the same cash - which they duly returned to its rightful owner. You might know that Italy would put great weight on seeing your bank statement too. I guess it keeps people in jobs. Am I right in thinking that if you leave the country for one night, you can then stay a further 3 months without registering your stay or did they build in some kind of average into the requirements?
If you've read Fingerprints of the Gods (which I absolutely loved), then you'll know it's the 23rd December we should be more worried about ;) Good post Sagraiasolar - here's hoping 'colder' winters = more blue sunny days = more PV income ;)
I would imagine that if it were purely because of the odd technical reason, then Fillide wouldn't be leaving. It's most-likely the 'straw that broke the camel's back' me thinks. Real pity though. Although I don't contribute a lot here - mostly since it switched to its current format, I check in and follow what's going on regularly. Fillide is one of the most valuable members & it's a real shame to see her go.
They prefer to use IBAN here. Have a good look at HiFX too as I have nothing but good things to say about them - the cash is normally deposited same/next day & we've never had fees charged at the Italian end. Best value is transferring in bulk (£5000 or more) but you only take a small hit on the exchange rate if you transfer smaller amounts. Well worth experimenting on their site with different amounts. I had written down the various loadings on the rates but can't find them at the mo.
Interesting debate - only time will tell :) It's a frustrating country to run a business in - completely anti-entrepreneurial. The world will leave Italy behind unless it wakes up to what is going on outside of its borders.
And to start a business in Italy Ugo, some sums for year 1: Profit €5000. Tax, INPS & Account payment for next year €4400. Accountancy Bill €800. er....which means that despite barely earning anything, you owe the goverment €200 and have nothing to live on. Hmm...Is it any wonder why noone wishes to start a business in Italy? That's hardly likely to stimulate the economy.
I very much doubt that the Pound will collapse. One thing about the British is that the majority will accept that there's a mountain to climb financially and they understand that they will have to pay a little more. I'm not so sure Italy will accept austerity, that everyone will happily pay their 'full' taxes & that the politicians will stop bleeding the country dry by lining their own pockets. I cannot believe just how many people are able to drive high end cars here when the 'effective' tax rates are as high as anywhere in Europe & far, far higher than the UK. It's a bit like Greece where there are more Porsche owners than people who 'declare' incomes of €50,000 or more.
Very true and house prices continue to be a lottery in Italy. At the end of the day, it's only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it and right now, with the Euro teetering on the brink of collapse, someone from outside the Eurozone could sink a load of cash into this only to find in years to come that it's worth 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 lira - about £25! Noone in their right mind is putting Sterling into Euro investments whilst these bankrupt economies continue to die an ever-more-likely slow death.
Parsnips are very easy for us. Our soil has only had a couple of years of improvement (manure) from being completely closed, compressed and rock hard solid clay. However, they're sewn directly and thinned out. Last year I shaded them a little but generally they're just left to their own devices. I wouldn't personally try and bring them on in seed trays etc first since they develop those long tap roots very early on and if you interfere with that, you're interfering with the shape of your parsnip. Here's a couple of images. The first shows a 'regular' sized parsnip against the monsters that we've produced. They're lovely and sweet despite their size.
