Ola Madonna

I've been a BE lurker, but now need to ask advice from contributors to these hallowed pages.

i am a British citizen who lived in Italy for about 20 years before moving back to the UK about a decade ago. I have a property in Italy which I visit every month or so, for which I pay IMU and council tax etc. All my earnings are in the UK, and I am in effect domiciled there for tax purposes, and pay all taxes on my income there.

I have never bothered to remove my name from the 'anagrafe' of my local 'Comume', and as such am still a resident in Italy. After having read recent articles (in this forum) on succession laws in Italy, in order to avoid a possible 'casino' I wish to remove myself from the 'anagrafe' and hence 'surrender' / renounce my Italian residency. This morning I went to the local Comune to do so, and the response was a great big 'boh'. Firstly they said that it would be for my local council in the UK to inform them that I am now a resident there – but then I explained that as far as I knew the system in the UK is different as is the concept of residency, and that I thought it unlikely that my local council in the UK would feel any need to contact the Italian authorities. (This certainly wasn't done when I moved back in 2006.) Then they checked and told me that they would need to mark me down as 'irreperibile' – but to me that would be absurd, as I still have the property here and am a member of the local community despite being here for not much more than two or three months in the year.

Would any members of the BE online community be able to offer advice?

modicasa

You can emigrate with immediate effect, but its impossible to do so retroactively. You need to emigrate back to the UK now, but for the years you have been technically resident in Italy you have a 'bel problema'. You have presumably taken advantage of the tax incentives of being resident, so not paid ICI or IMU and possibly not TASI - and in return for which you should have been filing tax returns. Once you emigrate you will be paying for a second home, with all hte increases in costs, but a sllight reduction in your TARI. As for the years of missed tax returns you will just need to hope they domt come looking for you.

Donna Noble

When I found out about this residency lark, I said to my husdand that I thought that the town hall should be obligated to give you a letter when you enroll to explain your obligations as a resident regarding tax. Needless to say he just laughed at my suggestion!

Ola Madonna

Hi Modicasa,

Thank you for the info. I have been paying ICI/IMU and TASI and am aware that these charges will increase when my house becomes a 'seconda casa'.

The 'Comune' didn't seem to know how I could in effect 'emigrate' without my local council in the UK informing them that I had moved.

mmmmbuti

In Milan they seem to have a form for that

Trasferimento residenza all'estero - stranieri

http://www.lineaamica.gov.it/rispost...ento-allestero

Ola Madonna

Great! I'll show that to the people here.

Many thanks.

philat98

"When I found out about this residency lark, I said to my husdand that I thought that the town hall should be obligated to give you a letter when you enroll to explain your obligations as a resident regarding tax. Needless to say he just laughed at my suggestion!"

I thought the same thing.
I obtained residence by showing I had Euro10000 in a foreign bank account.
That immediately implies that you owe some tax after 183 days of residency.

Capo Boi

I'm sorry for your problems. Go back to your comune. They are obviously making it up as they go along. They should have a simple form requiring your signature (as mmmmbuti shows for Milan) for you to fill in. Residency is then cancelled there and then or on an agreed date in the future. A few days or weeks later the police will normally visit to pick up your residency card. I've not come across before anyone having difficulties cancelling residency.

As for missed tax returns..........

modicasa

You trot along to the anagrafe and tell them you are emigrating. You sign a form with your new address if you know it. The end. At the very least they have to cancel your residency. Never had any police come and check - its an autodeclaration.