873 Legal

We rent out our holiday home in Tuscany. Does anyone know if we have to pay income tax in England and Italy, or just England or just Italy?

Also, we have paid our Ici but have just found out we need to pay a 'rubbish' tax and a mountain tax. How do we find out more about this. The house is in a mountainous area, north of Lucca.

We would really appreciate some help.

Category
Legal

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 07/22/2005 - 21:35

OK - this is my understanding culled from our British and Italian accountants...

On income tax - depends where you're resident. Under so-called "dual taxation" agreements - you can't pay tax on the same income twice in two different countries.

So, if you're still resident in Britain, you declare the income from the house on your British tax return. Not in Italy. This is what we do. But you can cushion the blow by offsetting the ongoing expenses you incur in running it, like the cost of a cleaner, utility bills, redecoration, marketing (website) etc.

And if you're an Italian resident, the British Inland Revenue can't chase you for tax you already pay to the Italian authorities.

Your local comune can tell you how much you need to pay for the "rubbish" tax, also called TARSU. It's based on the internal size (total square metres) of your house. We pay around 220 euro a year for it (we also live north of Lucca). You can pay it at banks and post offices.

Mountain tax we've just heard of from another poster on this site - but we've had a house for two and a half years, and an Italian accountant, and it's never been mentioned to us.

Can anyone else shed any light on the mountain tax? Including, if possible, some insight into why you should pay more tax if you live near a mountain?

Mike Johnson

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 07/23/2005 - 02:37

Thank you Mike. We are not residents in Italy. We do have an accountant in England but he doesn't seem to be terribly conversant with Italian matters. I notice you have a place in Bagni di Lucca. We are in Tereglio and Bagni di Lucca is about 25 minutes away - it takes us about 15 minutes to get down the mountain! Would you be able to recommend your Italian accountant? We only visit once or twice a year so we really need one who speaks English and who we can contact via email or phone and, she says in a small voice, doesn't cost an arm and a leg! We are going out there for the first two weeks of August so maybe we would be able to get something sorted out while we're there.

Regarding the mountain tax - maybe it's something to do with maintaining the mountain roads, who knows?

Helen

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 07/23/2005 - 06:57

i have asked locals what the mountain tax is for all I get is a shrug. Trying to fathom the reasoning for these things is like trying to solve the meaning of life, we just pay it and enjoy!
Susi

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 07/24/2005 - 11:13

[QUOTE=Helen Warner] Would you be able to recommend your Italian accountant? [/QUOTE]

Helen - I've sent you an e-mail direct.

Mike