Dry coupon, 850 euros more per year: what changes and for whom it increases

ROME. On average 850 euros more per year to pay, in short, a blow that will hit 600 thousand families without solving the problem of the availability of accommodation in large cities, denounces Aigab, the Italian Association of short-term rental managers. This is the result of the increase from 21 to 26% of the dry tax on short-term rentals included by the government in the new budget law.

In fact, out of 9.5 million unused second homes, those made for income with short-term rentals intended not only for tourism but also to satisfy work, study and patient care needs, for which there is an online advertisement, are just 632 thousand and represent 1.8% of existing homes in Italy (35 million in total) and 6.6% of “unused second homes”. They are mostly found in countryside or seaside locations and in villages, Aigab estimates according to which, on the other hand, in large cities around 15% of homes are still vacant.

On the other front, hoteliers, who obviously appreciate the government’s move, report the explosion in the number of accommodations offered to tourists: according to Federalberghi’s calculations, the municipality with the most accommodations available on Airbnb is Rome, with 27,389 advertisements, followed by Milan (23,656), Florence (12,117), Naples (9,353) and Venice (8,130). “For years we have been denouncing the evident inequality, in terms of fiscal and regulatory burdens and everything else that exists between the different forms of accommodation” reports the president of Assohotel Confesercenti, Vittorio Messina.

«To satisfy hoteliers, the Government impoverishes the middle class» protests instead the Aigab, which represents around 220 professional operators in the sector, companies with thousands of employees, around 25 thousand houses managed throughout Italy and 300 million euros of GDP produced for the country compared to around 30 thousand entrepreneurs active in this sector with 150 thousand direct employees who deal with reservations, rate management, reception, maintenance and cleaning. In addition to this, the possible repercussions on an important industry in terms of investments in renovations and home staging (construction companies, architects, furniture suppliers, etc.) must be considered.

«96% of the houses made available for income in Italy through short-term rentals belong to individual owners: 600 thousand families who, to avoid the risk of arrears (which has risen to 24%) and maintain possession of a second home that they have inherited or purchased and for which they have to pay utilities, maintenance and various taxes, they choose short-term rentals to make it to the end of the month, not to get rich” reports the Aigab according to which, thus discouraging investments and the use of second homes “after a country with a negative birth rate, we are also on the way to becoming a country of uninhabited houses, with shutters closed and destined for decay. Is this really what the Government wants?”.

«It’s a Wild West when it comes to short-term rentals. You will see that shortly, together and in coordination with the mayors of the metropolitan cities and with all the tourism councilors, we will arrive at a definition. It is a sector that needs regulation, keeping in mind that for us private property is sacred, and therefore we will not criminalize, but we will regulate” explained in turn yesterday the Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanchè who has been working for some time on a bill which despite the repeated announcements struggle to see the light.

According to the president of Confedilizia Giorgio Spaziani Testa, the government, however, is making «a serious mistake, the reasons for which are not known. What is certain is that the increase from 21 to 26 percent in the flat rate tax rate would bring little change into the state coffers (if greater revenue was the intent) and would not even be able to discourage short-term rentals ( if this was the goal). The only effect of the law – he concludes – would be the growth of the underground economy, which was precisely what the Berlusconi government wanted to combat when it introduced the tax rate. The government should think again.”