Italy: five thousandths (divided by two)

One thing is for sure, after the recent limit of 250 million euros imposed by the government it better not be called ?5 /1000?. In 2005 the Italian government introduced the possibility of directly donating 5 thousndths of ones tax contributions to third sector organisations when filling out their tax forms. At least for the sake of linguistic dignity it would be best to talk of ?2,5 /1000? as the new financial law has literally halved the amount of resources that the tax payers had chosen to give to the third sector in 2006. It remains the golden year for not for profit organisations, research institutions and municipalities as they received nearly 500 million euros. 2007 on the other hand starts slowly and this time it will not matter what the tax payers preferences are; the government has been clear about what the budget is and it will not be more than 250 million. ?It?s a big mistake? said Maria Guidotti, spokesperson for the Third Sector Forum ?because it creates a paradoxical situation, a short circuit between the number of signatures in favour of the third sector and a pre established limit on the budget.? She goes on to say that ? in this way, what is achieves is a ?more you give less you give? situation and less resources arrive to good causes because the limit is already decided. Considering the country?s financial situation it would have been more reasonable to reconfirm the measures, for example by defining a smaller percentage and with the aim of reintroducing the measure in the next few years?. ?Imposing a roof is an absurd idea? said the provincial president of Cri in Milan, Alberto Bruno who is also responsible for the national campaign for the ?5/1000? for the Italian Red Cross . ?I ask myself what criteria will be used to charge off my 5/1000 if the limit is surpassed.? How to translate this new 5/1000 into fiscal practice is indeed worrying; either the percentage by which the deductions will have to made will have to be calculated at the end or all donations that surpass the limit will have to be considered void. What will the taxpayer say? ?It seems clear that in this way the measure is less effective and is not in line with taxpayers wishes.? Comments Valeriano Canepari, president of the Caf Cisl, who was in charge of the most in depth monitoring of the choices expressed in the 730 tax forms. ?I believe that there are only two ways to get out of this impasse? he goes on to say ?to undertake a more rigorous selection of beneficiaries and for these to state what criteria will be used in the management of these resources with the request to regularly report on the activities carried out with the taxpayers money.? The draft bought by the government, thanks to an amendment presented and fiercely defended by senators Bobba, Novene and Ferrante, already moves in this direction: beneficiaries that are not recognised and not on the registers have already been taken off the list. Further, 0.5% of the total collected by the 5/1000 will be used towards financing the Onlus Agency. As far as local governments are concerned the situation is shaky: if they were to be excluded from the list of beneficiaries then not for profit organisations would be left some room ? local government institutions had 15 % of the preferences. However, their presence in the 5/1000 list has been cause for discussion and there are many members of government in favour of their inclusion. Controversy over local government ?I think it is right that local municipal government be excluded from the list of beneficiaries? is Marco Granelli?s comment. The president of Csv.net goes on to say that ? the ?social? activities that local institutions are called on to carry out are tied to the most essential levels of assistance and to normal fiscal measures, not to the voluntary choices of citizens.? Action Aid Italia?s general secretary, Marco de Ponte is on this same wave length. ?Its not an economic, but political question? he says ?if the State wants to guarantee projects and services that are already their responsibility then these must be carried out with ordinary taxes. If , on the other hand, it wants to promote other sussidiary services then citizens should be allowed to chose.? ?The 5/1000 must become a stable, structural measure within fiscal governance? adds Telethon?s managing director, Angelo Maramai, ?or it will remain a top down initiative. This is a fact that has, in a way, been its original defect ? it will risk being upset each year. Let us hope that the limit will be taken away and that it will be possible to achieve stability. In the mean time let us not forget how important other measures are, such as tax breaks on donations. It would be good to see a furthering of these measures? By how much will the 5/1000 be reduced with the 2007 financial law? To equal beneficiaries ? Limit reached in 2006: 486 million Maximum limit 2007: 250 million Percentage of the reduction: -53,4% Excluding the local governments from the list of beneficiaries the percentage of the reducion: -37,18% For more information about the 5/1000 in Italy see: Italy: 5×1000 to help the Third sector