Arco Plans Property Tax Changes and Deduction Increases

By tomorrow, taxpayers of Arco will need to pay the second installment of Ici, the property tax that, as in previous years, brings in roughly 4.5 billion lire for the municipality. This amount is expected to remain unchanged in 2001, despite discounts that the Veronesi administration plans to promote mainly for primary residences with medium and low average cadastral income. The “fiscal maneuver” includes increasing the deduction on the primary residence from 350,000 to 500,000 lire.

Town Council Discussion and Approvals

On Thursday, the Town Council will debate this and other updates concerning taxes, levies, and miscellaneous charges, which is responsible for giving the final approval to the proposals that the administration has prepared. The significant increase in the ordinary deduction (which could grow by the same amount – 150,000 lire – from one year to the next), has already been waived by the municipality over the course of a three-year period (1997-2000), and is expected to receive broad consensus, as well as the decision to continue not applying the Irpef additional surcharge. Additionally, confirming the 4 per thousand rate on primary residences and related structures (garages, sheds, barns, stables, etc.) should not raise concerns, as it’s the minimum required by law, along with the standard rate of 5.4 per thousand, unchanged since 1997. The same applies to the differentiated rates introduced in 1999: 5 per thousand on leased second homes and 7 per thousand on second homes not used as main residences.

Review of Deductions and Incentives

Finally, the higher deduction—set at 400,000 lire this year, with an increase of 80,000 over three years—reserved for taxpayers over 65 years old with specific income and asset requirements, will remain unchanged. In previewing the Ici novelties, Mayor Veronesi and Vice Mayor Prandi explain that the goal of the administration is to effectively exempt owners of medium-sized primary residences from paying the tax.

Everyone, however, would benefit from a regulation change that would allow the residents of Arco to pay the Ici in a single installment instead of two, at the end of the year. This would save time and additional costs for citizens, as well as time and personnel resources for municipal checks.