In the Italian tax system you are allowed to instruct the taxman to direct a very small proportion of your tax to one of a number of charities/organisations of your chouce.
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For anybody (or anybody you know!) who wants to experiment with living in Italy before taking the plunge of buying something, a friend of mine has a rather nice ancient tower to rent - 75 square metres on three floors, with as much outside space a
Tue, 05/14/2013 - 16:57
Occasionally, when I feel a bit passionate, or I hear idiot stuff from - let me just describe them as interested parties - I feel the need to defend Beppe Grillo.
Sun, 03/31/2013 - 21:01
I have just posted instructions on how to make a photo appear on this site.
Tue, 01/29/2013 - 08:45
Tomorrow, Sunday, we have the equivalent of primaries - public opportunities to endorse one particular candidate to lead the PD, a centre left party in Italian politics.
Sat, 11/24/2012 - 18:45
I have just come upon this blog, which is written in plain English, and seems to be a reasonably sensible, fairly neutral, overview of what is going on in Italian politics.
Tue, 11/06/2012 - 06:51
I am terminally pissed off with this forum, but it would be polite for me to say goodbye to some virtual friends - so, goodnight Gala, Sagraisolar, Badger, Angie, and apologies to those who I have forgotten to mention.
Fri, 09/07/2012 - 20:59
Medici Villas in Tuscany Rather a useful site (in English) talking about all the Medici villas in Tuscany, with a map and links to the individual websites of the buildings.
Tue, 09/04/2012 - 03:50
There was a thread about inheriting a property in Sicily, which was quite interesting. It has fallen off my screen. Why? There was nothing contentious at all in this thread.
Wed, 08/29/2012 - 20:10
There is a long article in la Repubblica today about how the various organised crime syndicates get involved in the food which you buy everyday. You might have thought that only cheapo no-label stuff could be involved, but it isn't so.
Mon, 07/23/2012 - 13:02
Comments posted
You should be able to find this on your bank statement. It will be under a description Coordinate Bancarie Internazionale, and should resemble a code like this: (IBAN) IT 11 UO70 7538 3500 0000 00 xx xxx. You'll also probably find the Identificativo Bancario Europeo (translates as Swift code) which should start with BIC. My BIC (Banca di Credito Cooperativo) starts ICRAIxxxxxx. Usually UK banks also want the postal address of the Italian branch - gawd knows why!
You do exist on Ugo's link about reciprocity on house purchase - you are okay from this point of view. Ram's caution is good. I think, recently, the Channel Islands did sign an accord about satisfying other countries of their tax collectors' transparency dealing with other countries taxmen, but this may not have yet been implemented, and Italy just might consider you as living in a fiscal paradise. (That's a very literal and quite amusing translation of the Italian for tax haven!) It's something (I'm sure not insuperable) to sort out before contracting to buy a house.
What a peculiar situation the channel islands seem to be in. My guess would be that you need a Schengen visa (which would allow you to stay for three months as a tourist), but whether you would also need to 'register'yourself with the Questura on your arrival in Italy I don't know. You shouldn't need a 'permesso di soggiorno'if you have a visa as far as I can see. I don't see any difficulties in purchasing a house - although it would be wise to make sure the notaio doing the act has done their research on the status of the channel islands ahead of time. This chap should be able to help
Italian Consul
01534 853167 Fondafau House St Martin, Jersey, Channel Islands JE3 6DR
It's unlikely that the cold will do any harm to your house itself - obviously you'll need to take precautions with things like central heating radiators and boilers, maybe even some water pipes if they are exposed anywhere - but traditional Italian houses are heavy and solid enough to resist almost anything the weather can come up with. Selling an olive grove depends really on where it is: if it has a good road to it and is near a village you might find someone wishing to take it on, but it's basically a hobby level activity (unless you are a farmer with zillions of hectares and heavily mechanised). It won't fetch much, and I'd think carefully about selling it if it adds to the aesthetic appeal of your house.
I don't use satellite, but many friends do, and they are now finding that any old Sky box (or FTA UK decoder) is bringing in all the BBC and ITV stuff (including red button) without any Sky subscription or card inserted. (This is in Umbria, on 80cm dishes - somebody in Abruzzo is doing this on a much bigger dish, though he could probaby do it on a smaller one. It seems the signal from Astra 1N is much less tightly footprinted for the FTA channels than it was when it was on some other Astra satellites.) This is probably not a permanent situation - it's something to do with Astra 1N (I think) and the coordinates which Sprostoni has mentioned sound good to me.
As Ugo has explained, you are not required to carry any private health cover (unless you take up residence in Itlay). However, it might be a good idea to have some medical insurance, because as you are non EU you (presumably) don't fall under any reciprocal health schemes, and any treatment would be charged to you. You may like to compare prices of (temporary) health cover in the EU, or specifically in Italy, from a local insurance provider, rather than feeling obliged to use an Italian insurer. I'm sure there will be some offers out there - good luck.
Moderators schmoderators - wo needs them? The original post by Ugo (which has opened up about the most interesting discussion in years) for sure would have been snagged in the days when moderators were in evidence. It's absurdly puerile stuff to print words like fuck off - just because you can get away with it. Grow up, and fuck off.
There are insurance rates for very small engined scooters, or ones governed to a certain performance level, which are set much lower, I believe. But once you are onto a scooter which doesn't fall into the 'my first scooter' category it does get pricey. www.6sicuro.it is a good insurance comparison site - I expect it also covers scooters (but I'm not certain).
They are cheaper in IKEA - but maybe an engineer designed the Walmart one
Yes, it's definitely worth staying soberish, lying on your back poolside, and staring at the sky. Friday (August 10) is La notte di San Lorenzo - traditionally the night of the shooting stars (pity the Olympics organisers didn't twig this one to hang some event on!) It's also the title of a film made by the Taviani brothers which is definitely worth a watch. (If you don't stay sober, you can see them any night of the year!)