On the application of the Italian
Government, the Italian Constitutional
Court has recently declared partly
illegal, because conflicting against the
Italian Constitution and therefore
unenforceable, the "Luxury Tax" (“Tassa
sul lusso”) introduced by the
Sardinia district authority in 2006
and reiterated in 2007. This was an
additional cost for any non-resident
owner of an Italian property in
Sardinia, and was widely perceived as a
substantial departure from current
taxation of Italian properties
principles.
According to a press release recently
issued by the Italian Constitutional
Court:
- the annual Sardinia tax payable on
properties owned by non-residents within
3 kilometres of the coast (applicable to
any non-resident owning an Italian
property near the coast in Sardinia) and
- the Sardinia capital gain tax on the
sale of second homes by non residents,
applicable to any non-resident selling
an Italian property in Sardinia are now
both unconstitutional and therefore
definitely unenforceable. The actual
reasons for this ruling are not know
yet, as the full judgment has not been
published yet.
The Constitutional Court also ruled that
the Sardinia taxes payable by visiting
tourists ("Imposta
di soggiorno") and the
regional tax on the landing of boats and
aircrafts ("Imposta
sullo scalo turistico degli aereomobili
e unita` da diporto") are not
against the Italian Constitution and
therefore remain in force, for the time
being. However the Italian
Constitutional Court has referred the
tax on the landing of tourist aircrafts
and boats to the European Court of
Justice, as it clearly conflict with the
right of freedom of movement of persons
and property within the Community. The
European Court of Justice will thus have
the last word on this tax.
The “Luxury Tax” ("Tassa
sul lusso") was introduced in
Sardinia to support the local district
authority (“Regione
Sardegna”) budget and to try and
balance the slow economy of the inland
areas with the thriving economy of the
Sardinia coast, because of tourism.
However this legislation was bitterly
contested by non residents, tourists
associations and the Italian Government.
Because of the recent ruling of the
Italian Constitutional Court, it is now
possible to apply for a refund of all
the taxes paid which are now
unenforceable. In addition to the refund
for the sums actually paid it will also
be possible to recover interest at the
rate of 2.5%. If the Sardinia district
authority will not refund these sums
willingly upon request, it will be
possible to apply to the local tax
court, for an order that the sums
collected be refunded to compliant
taxpayers.
According to some estimates, the
“Regione Sardegna” is now likely to have
to refund over 30 million Euros to
non-resident Italian and foreign
taxpayers.
Avv. Claudio
Del Giudice
February 2008 - Copyrights reserved
