Italian aircraft tax...?

[Contacttower]

So has anyone actually been to Italy since this tax was introduced?

Was thinking of going...but would probably want to stay for more than 48 hours, which is a problem even with a light single due to the tax.

Does anyone have any actual experience of this though, I mean if I fly into some small airfield (from another Schengen country so no need to come into contact with authority) and stay for a few days and then depart again is anyone really going to come out to extract money from me?

[peterh337]

The last I have read on this, from Italian pilots, is that it is real, but nobody has yet seen implementation details.

Personally I wouldn't go because if they decide to implement it, you could get chased after "the Italian way" i.e. 6-12 months later, and then grabbed when it is least handy.

I know the Italians are not the only ones doing this but only recently I have had to deflect yet another pursuit from one Italian airport where I flew in Sep 2010, paid up all there and then, they chased the "unpaid" bills some months later (but I keep all airport receipts for > 1 year) and then more a bit later.

If you want to go to N Italy then fly to Portoroz; a great well organised place in Slovenia, and jump on the bus :)

[patowalker]

I mean if I fly into some small airfield (from another Schengen country so no need to come into contact with authority)

They will have your flight plans, ... :)

[peterh337]

My guess is that the airport will file a report which will then trigger the charge.

It is after all based on parking for > 48hrs on Italian soil.

How they will go about tracing the owner will be interesting.

[patowalker]

From Clifford Chance:

How are non-Italian registered aircraft affected by the Tax?
Since non-Italian registered aircraft were added by way of a last minute amendment to a set of rules originally provided solely for Italian registered private aircraft, the new legislation is not properly designed to cover non-Italian registered aircraft. Absent official clarifications, the same rules for Italian registered aircraft should apply. Hence, unless an exemption applies, aircraft stationed in Italy for more than 48 consecutive hours will be subject to the Tax by reference to the period from 6 December 2011 until expiry of the certificate of airworthiness at the rate of one twelfth of the amounts referred to the above table for each month of validity of the certificate. Similarly, the Tax is due if the aircraft certificate of airworthiness is issued or renewed before 31 January 2012.


Cheaper to visit close to expiry of CofA. :confused:

[peterh337]

You are kidding, surely.

For starters, N-regs do not have an expiring CofA.

You would have to carry a release to service with you.

Whoever proposed this is totally clueless about aviation.

Thankfully I am in the fortunate position of not having the slightest interest in flying to Italy or even entering Italian airspace (anymore). One of the good things about a TB20 is that you can go anywhere in Europe, with perhaps 1 stop, without going near Italy :)

[Dg800]

My guess is that the airport will file a report which will then trigger the charge.You guessed wrong. Privacy issues aside, an airport authority is not a police authority. There is no law forcing them to report anything to anybody, so why would they do that voluntarily? (EDIT: of course they have to report a crime, skipping a tax payment is however not a crime, not for such puny amounts)
Airport police or customs is another matter entirely, easily fixed by flying within Schengen to a minor airport with neither police nor customs present.

AFAIK nobody has reported anybody where I fly regularly and no police has ever shown up asking to see the foreign plane's certificates of registration. None of our esteemed foreign guest pilots has yet paid a cent to the Italian treasury. Not a single one.

Ciao,

Dg800

[Dg800]

Whoever proposed this is totally clueless.

There, that's better. :rolleyes:

[AfricanEagle]

Tax for foreign registered aircraft is to be extended to 45 days stopover.

Hopefully to be approved by the end of March.

[patowalker]

You are kidding, surely.

For starters, N-regs do not have an expiring CofA.

I'm not kidding.

Italian microlights are exempt because they are not on the Italian register and AOPA Italy has asked the tax authorities to confirm that the tax does not apply to Permit to Fly aircraft, since the wording only refers to the validity of a CofA.

Unfortunately, the authorities have 6 months to respond, which could mean waiting until August.

[phil_socata]

AfricanEagle, do you have any more information on that? Would be great news for a lot of us pilots here in Austria, who have been flying to Italy regularly. For me, Venezia Lido has been the personal spring flyout destination for years ...

[A le Ron]

Who else?:ooh:

[proudprivate]

Who else?http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/icon25.gif

He is not referring to countries implementing this anal tax, but to airports chasing landing dues several months later (even if you have paid).

To answer the question : some French airports that are GA friendly but suffer from admin problems. Peter has reported this earlier. I've had it as well. A payment reference number or a bank statement generally makes it go away.

Morale : keep all records for a year.

[Grassfield]

AfricanEagle, as mentioned in previous post, do you have any source on that information? It sounds very promising, but we just want to know if there is actually a small glimmer of hope for short vacation trips or if one has to avoid Italy, or make <48h stays which the current proposal seems to suggest. Needless to say, it is a little annoying to say the least... :uhoh:

And as Phil_Socata mentioned, spring season is coming upon us quickly and Italy is tempting... :)

[patowalker]

From IAOPA (Europe) e-newsletter:
New tax may kill Italian GA

Italy is rethinking its new general aviation tax on foreign-registered aircraft as it becomes clear it will raise far less money than expected and will damage the economy in ways that were not taken into account. This is a good time to reinforce Italy's doubts by writing to your local Italian Embassy pointing out the problems you have with the tax.
The annual tax on private aircraft is part of Italy's response to its economic crisis and supposedly hits only the rich. Unfortunately it applies to all private aircraft that stay in Italy for 48 hours or more, which makes it risky even to transit Italy; a technical problem, bad weather, or an ATC strike could saddle a pilot with a bill for thousands of euros. AOPA Italy members are preparing to shoulder a share of the burden of digging the country out from under the mountain of debt run up by the government, but IAOPA-Europe is opposed to the extension of the tax to non-Italian registrations.
The international response has been partly responsible for the decision to take a second look at the tax. The 'official' calculation says the government will make €85 million from it, but AOPA Italy has calculated the tax on the basis of the number of eligible aircraft and helicopters based in the country at €3,520,000, plus whatever can be raised from foreign-registered aircraft. Set against that the certain loss of tourism income and the picture looks very worrying. Some 10 percent of private Italian aircraft have de-registered since the tax was announced, and the requirement to pay a further €3,000 a year to keep an aircraft will drive more people out of GA.
AOPA Italy is seeking a change to make foreign aircraft pay the tax only after they have spent 90 days or more in Italy, and to have foreign aero club aircraft exempted. Domestically, they want more information on the exact tax levels – for instance, it’s not known whether a Piper PA28 with an MTOW of 1,247kg pays the €1.5 per kg tax for the first 1,000 kg plus €2.5 for the remaining 247 kg (€2,117.50) or whether it pays the €2.5 per kg set for aircraft between 1,000 and 2,000 kg on the whole MTOW (€3,117.50). Are historical aircraft and microlights included? Much remains to be settled.
For Italian GA, the future looks bleak. Would you be able to continue flying if you were suddenly faced with an additional bill of more than €3,000 a year, even before you'd flown a single hour? As non-Italian pilot, you can help yourself by writing to your local Italian Embassy expressing your reluctance to visit Italy under the circumstances, and pointing out the loss of tourist revenue your absence represents. To find the address of the Italian Embassy in your country, click on this link (http://docs.google.com/open?id=0B3dSIewAbvXPODZjNjg0YTEtZmI2NS00M2ZiLTgyZmUtNzBiNDE 3ZmIxMDcz).

[phil_socata]

I've already followed their advice and written to the embassy in Vienna. The answer came surprisingly quick, but was unsurprisingly full of diplomatic nonsense asking me to take into account the dire situation of the Italian economy :ugh:...

Nevertheless, it's sure a good idea to keep up the letter-writing campaign. What else can you do?

[patowalker]

... asking me to take into account the dire situation of the Italian economy :ugh:...

I hope you will take pity on them and contribute towards improving their economy by visiting for longer than 48 hours. :)

[peterh337]

The best way to stop this silly tax is to not fly to Italy.

That is probably what the boat owners are doing.

[AN2 Driver]

Yes, for us foreign owners that is indeed the only thing we can do.

That does not help Italian GA however. They practically face total extinction. And that I regard as highly dangerous. There are other semi-communist governments in Europe who would love to do the same in their own countries. GA is an easy target as there is no lobby to speak of and it looks good towards elections when they can kill off "a hobby for the rich and wealthy" and "protect the environment" at the same time. :yuk:

It is high time European GA gets together and starts a concentrated effort against these extinction programs of the various governments. If we do not, it will be less than a few years until there won't be anything left worth mentioning... maybe some gliders or VLA's/ULM's.

It is highly disturbing if the aviation regulations in place in the pre-1991 USSR and East Block are now taken by some as a role model for future European General aviation. State carriers and military aero clubs. Well, quite a few of EASA's German staff originates out of the GDR, where this was the modus vivendi. Do we need to say more why aviation is getting a regulative overkill?

[patowalker]

Automated translations do not do justice to these statements, but they give a clear indication of how strongly the Italian GA community feels about the tax.

http://www.aeci.it/wp-content/uploads/COMUNICATO_AECI_29_02_121.pdf

http://www.aeci.it/wp-content/uploads/COMUNICATO-AECI.pdf

[Dg800]

That is probably what the boat owners are doing.

Nope. For them, the law has already been changed. Truly foreign boats (i.e. not registered abroad but actually belonging to an Italian citizen) have been fully exempted from paying the luxury tax. The nautical lobby carries much more clout in the Italian parliament (hint: Italy's coastline is 7456 km long :8).

Anyway, what AfricanEagle posted above is just a rumor, so far nothing has been heard from official sources.

Regarding the embassy's response decrying Italy's dire economical situation, just point out that you taking a holiday in some other country instead of in Italy in order not to pay the tax will certainly benefit the other country's economy and not Italy's. Don't hold your breath for a response, though.

Ciao,

DG800

[phil_socata]

I did so in my original letter. Made a neat calculation including fuel, wine and Italian cuisine every day ;) ...

I don't quite share the extremely pessimistic view of European GA. Yes, there are many disturbing events: CAMO, Mode S and 8,33 khz are prime examples, having absolutely no advantage for anyone (except avionics companies and the bureaucrats themselves), but costing the average VFR aircraft owner like myself a small fortune.

On the other hand, the simplified IFR curriculum in France is great, and the EASA proposal for an enroute and/or simplified instrument rating is in my opinion the best thing to happen in European GA in decades – if it is ever put in place, of course.

Does anyone when this decision will be made?

[AfricanEagle]

An emendment to the law regarding the tax on foreign aircraft stopping over in Italy has been approved today increasing the duration of the stopover from 48 hours to 45 days. It now has to be ratified.

[peterh337]

That's a lot better but it is still a trap for somebody with bigger mechanical problems.

[AfricanEagle]

Peter, you hate Italy and don't want to come anyway. ;)

If a foreign aircraft owned by a non Italian should be stuck in Italy due to mechanical problems it is highly unlikely that any tax would be required.

[David Roberts]

This has been the work primarily of the Italian member of the Europe Air Sports board, whom I was with last week, and the President of the Italian Aero Club (a Senator).
Very political as you may imagine.
My understanding is the 45 days is to be for each visit by a non-Italian resident. So the clock starts each time rather than being cumulative through a year.
Suggest we keep a low profile on this until ratified. In politics anything can go wrong at the last minute.
DGR
EAS President

[peterh337]

Peter, you hate Italy and don't want to come anyway. That's not true at all. See below.

If a foreign aircraft owned by a non Italian should be stuck in Italy due to mechanical problems it is highly unlikely that any tax would be required.How can you be sure? They have chased me for months for bills I did pay, and each time a new person picked up the job I got chased again. To be fair, a lot of non Italian airports do this too (aviation suffers from crap admin all over the place - Bournemouth is a good start) but it illustrates the need for proper corporate transparency before flying somewhere.

In southern Europe, the rules are looser and a lot of stuff works by speaking the language and "having words" with the right people, and a lot of people like that. It's great to get away from the rule-bound north. But when flying internationally and when one cannot speak a word of the local language, one is relying heavily on proper procedured being followed. The last thing one wants is a law on the books of the destination country which will pile on a few 000 tax after X days' parking - unless one is able to arrange some "local contacts" (which often means bribery).

Anyway, little GA like me is irrelevant. What Italy will notice is the people with the £10M boats and the £10M jets not going there anymore. The only question is how long this will take. How long did Sardinia have its "luxury tax"?

[Pace]

An emendment to the law regarding the tax on foreign aircraft stopping over in Italy has been approved today increasing the duration of the stopover from 48 hours to 45 days. It now has to be ratified.

That is indeed good news as the owner of the jet I fly is sitting in Catania while his jet is sitting in Malta.

I go back and fetch him tomorrow am.

The tax is so severe and heavy that we cannot take the risk until the 45 day ammendment is set in concrete.

"Dear Sir We have evidence to show your aircraft remained in Italy for a period of one week when the law stated that an aircraft is due to pay the luxury tax if remaining in Italy for more than 48 hrs.
While we appreciate this has now been ammended to 45 days 48 hrs was in force at the time of your stay! Please pay 120,000 Euro for your Citation ".

Pace