I travelled via Belgium last week and decided to stay overnight at Dinant, where I have stayed previously and found to be marginally less bad than most towns in Belgium.To anyone contemplating a similar stop - don't.The whole of the town is being
At La Dolce Vita exhibition at Olympia this year I bought a jar of garlic cloves preserved in a pizzaiola type oil and vinegar mixture.It is just amazing for snacking, the whole cloves are really crunchy with a fairly mild flavour of the garlic an
I need to buy a tyre for my car. I googled all the usual words but came up with nothing. Back in UK I would simply go to Kwikfit, or ATS etc and it would be done on the spot.
Does anybody have a contact for a sun blind maker?Think of a conventional, rather old-fashioned roller blind with the roller fixed at the top of the window and the blind hanging vertically down.
The popularity of Fascism increases reactively when its core principles are perceived to be being eroded by a lax approach by Government and society. There is huge value in a nation's traditions and culture, and when "the people" see their culture and traditions being eroded or diluted, the fascists will rise energetically to try to restore or maintain what remains of their traditional cultural values. Many across the political spectrum see this response as a good thing, if they think their culture worth preserving, but it can become a bad thing. In UK for example, the BNP are active in trying to maintain some semblance of Englishness - which most would agree is a good thing to maintain - but the way the BNP go about it is disgraceful, hence the very thought of maintaining Englishness becomes tainted. Which means that anyone who holds "the essence of Englishness" dear is castigated as a Fascist by association. I have little doubt that Fascism still exists in Italy in various shades of extremity - as it probably does in every other country. I have little doubt also that Mussolini did lots of good and was loved by many for the good he did. His WW2 experience was possibly not the best (!), but it's really quite hard to see how he could have avoided joining Axis, given his geographical and political position. After the armistice he had absolutely no choices left, being completely subjugated by the Nazis. I have Italian neighbours who spit at Garibaldi, believing that Italy's ills are caused by the south bludging off the north, and feel that Lombardia should secede to Austria. Are they right? - who knows, I certainly don't.
.....that is a very good answer - "I used to be able to afford it but now I can't", clearly showing there was no intention to cheat the system from the start. Hence the taxman can argue that he must consider you never to have been able to be a resident, as your personal circumstances clearly don't allow you to fulfill the terms of residency over the 5 year period under consideration. Which seems to me to be exactly what Rachel's circumstances are, though for reasons of movement rather than affordability. We musn't forget that residency is "granted" rather than simply handed out, and you do have to jump through the odd hoop or two to get it. So I still would guess it's a trade-off between stumping up the IVIE or paying back the prima casa discount, depending on how far short of the 5 years you fall. (While kicking yourself for delaying your residency application for 18 months!). Terry
Expecting a top chef to cook the pasta is as naive as expecting a top designer to make the clothes that carry his name. And Cartier never made a watch in his life. Essentially, everything is easy if you're shown how to do it properly. The top names in any profession will always attract the best talent to work with them and reputations are generally hard-earned, not least in the restaurant business.
A couple of times we've chosen to go down into Germany, then over the Brenner which is a great way to go and doesn't really involve Swiss type mountains. Munich is a great stopover, as also is Innsbruck. TK
Thanks Ram - I thought it may not be as simple as we'd like it to be. If I was the tax man and some British person bought a property as prima casa, saving thousands of €, then immediately rescinded Italian residency so as not to be in the Italian tax system, I would take a dimmish view. I would certainly want the tax saving back, and being a tax man, would want to take advantage of the change of residency by applying a penalty. So I still favour the view that says if that happens within 5 years you will be due to pay, even though you keep the property and continue to spend up to 6 months a year in it. Will watch this thread with interest to see what your notaio has to say! Terry
AndyT - spot on - you nailed it. I dont know why people get so steamed up about it. If you have a good meal, great. If you have a bad meal, hey ho, get over it. I absolutely love our local trattoria but I'd hate to think I would have to eat there all the time. TK
"thank you again Ram, hopefully we will never have to go down that route, but you never know... Thought they would have some time limit on this and you would get hit with the difference in purchase tax if you became none resident in such a short time...." There does still seem a bit of confusion here - I think we're agreed that the required period of residency is 5 years. Do we agree that if you rescind within the 5 years you do have to pay back the difference in IVA? Do we also know whether there is a penalty, or do they just accept your circumstances have changed and that you need to rescind your residency, and backcharge the tax break as if your house was always seconda casa? TK
I have always understood that you needed to have had residency for 5 years before you could rescind without paying back the tax saving for prima casa. Also that if you rescinded within 5 years, you would pay a penalty in addition to the tax (similar to the case where you fail to achieve residency within 18 months). Having said which, I can't find any reference to that anywhere (!) so it may just be one of those "I have always understood........." things. Hopefully someone can enlighten us? TK
Mine is the standard UK policy for a UK car, which allows 12 months a year of use in all EU countries. They don't care that it is lhd, nor that I bought it in Belgium and imported it on to UK plates. I can't even find reference to the popularly held belief that I have to be in the same country as the car at all times, though I would be happy if they took that view. Incidentally, it's really no use ringing Saga on any issue as the call centre people generally don't know squat! Suits me.
Comments posted
The popularity of Fascism increases reactively when its core principles are perceived to be being eroded by a lax approach by Government and society. There is huge value in a nation's traditions and culture, and when "the people" see their culture and traditions being eroded or diluted, the fascists will rise energetically to try to restore or maintain what remains of their traditional cultural values. Many across the political spectrum see this response as a good thing, if they think their culture worth preserving, but it can become a bad thing. In UK for example, the BNP are active in trying to maintain some semblance of Englishness - which most would agree is a good thing to maintain - but the way the BNP go about it is disgraceful, hence the very thought of maintaining Englishness becomes tainted. Which means that anyone who holds "the essence of Englishness" dear is castigated as a Fascist by association. I have little doubt that Fascism still exists in Italy in various shades of extremity - as it probably does in every other country. I have little doubt also that Mussolini did lots of good and was loved by many for the good he did. His WW2 experience was possibly not the best (!), but it's really quite hard to see how he could have avoided joining Axis, given his geographical and political position. After the armistice he had absolutely no choices left, being completely subjugated by the Nazis. I have Italian neighbours who spit at Garibaldi, believing that Italy's ills are caused by the south bludging off the north, and feel that Lombardia should secede to Austria. Are they right? - who knows, I certainly don't.
.....that is a very good answer - "I used to be able to afford it but now I can't", clearly showing there was no intention to cheat the system from the start. Hence the taxman can argue that he must consider you never to have been able to be a resident, as your personal circumstances clearly don't allow you to fulfill the terms of residency over the 5 year period under consideration. Which seems to me to be exactly what Rachel's circumstances are, though for reasons of movement rather than affordability. We musn't forget that residency is "granted" rather than simply handed out, and you do have to jump through the odd hoop or two to get it. So I still would guess it's a trade-off between stumping up the IVIE or paying back the prima casa discount, depending on how far short of the 5 years you fall. (While kicking yourself for delaying your residency application for 18 months!). Terry
Expecting a top chef to cook the pasta is as naive as expecting a top designer to make the clothes that carry his name. And Cartier never made a watch in his life. Essentially, everything is easy if you're shown how to do it properly. The top names in any profession will always attract the best talent to work with them and reputations are generally hard-earned, not least in the restaurant business.
A couple of times we've chosen to go down into Germany, then over the Brenner which is a great way to go and doesn't really involve Swiss type mountains. Munich is a great stopover, as also is Innsbruck. TK
Thanks Ram - I thought it may not be as simple as we'd like it to be. If I was the tax man and some British person bought a property as prima casa, saving thousands of €, then immediately rescinded Italian residency so as not to be in the Italian tax system, I would take a dimmish view. I would certainly want the tax saving back, and being a tax man, would want to take advantage of the change of residency by applying a penalty. So I still favour the view that says if that happens within 5 years you will be due to pay, even though you keep the property and continue to spend up to 6 months a year in it. Will watch this thread with interest to see what your notaio has to say! Terry
AndyT - spot on - you nailed it. I dont know why people get so steamed up about it. If you have a good meal, great. If you have a bad meal, hey ho, get over it. I absolutely love our local trattoria but I'd hate to think I would have to eat there all the time. TK
"thank you again Ram, hopefully we will never have to go down that route, but you never know... Thought they would have some time limit on this and you would get hit with the difference in purchase tax if you became none resident in such a short time...." There does still seem a bit of confusion here - I think we're agreed that the required period of residency is 5 years. Do we agree that if you rescind within the 5 years you do have to pay back the difference in IVA? Do we also know whether there is a penalty, or do they just accept your circumstances have changed and that you need to rescind your residency, and backcharge the tax break as if your house was always seconda casa? TK
I have always understood that you needed to have had residency for 5 years before you could rescind without paying back the tax saving for prima casa. Also that if you rescinded within 5 years, you would pay a penalty in addition to the tax (similar to the case where you fail to achieve residency within 18 months). Having said which, I can't find any reference to that anywhere (!) so it may just be one of those "I have always understood........." things. Hopefully someone can enlighten us? TK
It's for the level of cover you took out in UK, as per the Policy Schedule.
Mine is the standard UK policy for a UK car, which allows 12 months a year of use in all EU countries. They don't care that it is lhd, nor that I bought it in Belgium and imported it on to UK plates. I can't even find reference to the popularly held belief that I have to be in the same country as the car at all times, though I would be happy if they took that view. Incidentally, it's really no use ringing Saga on any issue as the call centre people generally don't know squat! Suits me.