This maybe of interest?
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, its 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,