There is less than a month left until the payment deadline for TASI , the tax on indivisible services that applies to buildings, including the primary residence, and to building land.
One of the many taxes owed to the municipal treasury that could be abolished with careful, virtuous, and intelligent accounting management. Just as is happening in a small town in the much-maligned South of Italy, San Lorenzo Bellizzi , in Calabria , specifically in the province of Cosenza.
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MUNICIPALITIES THAT DO NOT PAY TASI
Located in the heart of the Pollino National Park, it is a municipality of 712 inhabitants that relies on agriculture and good governance. So much so that, this year, as in previous years, taxpayers in San Lorenzo Bellizzi will not pay TASI (Tax on Urban Waste). Thanks to a far-sighted policy and the Calabrian sun.
NO TASI THANKS TO PHOTOVOLTAICS
The small municipality managed to abolish the tax thanks to investments in photovoltaic energy , which brings residents over €90 annually thanks to 15 megawatts of solar panels installed on greenhouses to avoid taking up space for agriculture. In addition to the solar greenhouses, the municipal council, led by environmental engineer Antonio Cersosimo, has approved the installation of panels on municipal buildings, from the school to the town hall, allowing them to achieve energy self-sufficiency by producing a kilowatt-hour equal to their electricity consumption, along with that of public lighting.
Furthermore, the revenue generated by the energy produced by photovoltaic modules has helped ease the tax burden on citizens, reducing public transportation costs by 50% for school commuters—all high school students who are forced to attend secondary schools in nearby Castrovillari, since schools in San Lorenzo only reach middle school.
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SAN LORENZO BELLIZZI PHOTOVOLTAIC
But this is not the only virtuous circle that has been triggered: the owners of properties located in the historic center who decide to renovate their homes are entitled to be exempt from municipal taxes for 5 years after the renovation.
The results of the plan launched in 2012 by the municipal administration of San Lorenzo Bellizzi, taking advantage of the incentives of the fifth Energy Bill, are beyond positive, and constitute an example of sustainability that can become a model that can be exported to other virtuous municipalities on the peninsula. This operation has allowed the town's economic balance to remain in the black, almost eliminating municipal taxes for its residents, and has increased environmental awareness and the culture of sustainability.
SAN LORENZO BELLIZZI CALABRIA
The plan to focus entirely on photovoltaics stems from the town's natural rural character, nestled at an altitude of 830 meters in a breathtakingly beautiful natural setting between the Raganello Gorges and the Falconara plateau . This is the preservation of the land, its slow pace, and its hospitality, generating a rediscovered sustainable agriculture industry as well as sustainable accommodation and tourism. New businesses are developing in the area, including a veritable apple growing district , almost rivaling the much more renowned Trentino apple growing district. There are also three sourdough bread makers and additional cheese and dairy producers using sheep's and goat's milk.
A virtuous municipality, San Lorenzo Bellizzi, has seen photovoltaic energy as a significant opportunity to avoid wasting energy, improve the quality of life of its residents, and respect and protect the environment . It also helps combat the depopulation of a beautiful village in Southern Italy.
A positive example that we hope will soon be followed by many other Italian municipalities.
( The featured image and the one accompanying the text are taken from the Facebook page of the municipality of San Lorenzo Bellizzi )
STORIES OF VIRTUOUS MUNICIPALITIES:
- Rimini, CiViVo is the new volunteer group serving the disabled and the community.
- Stray dogs: if you adopt a dog, the municipality will give you €300. Or it will cut your waste tax. Where incentives are available, the latest case is in Campania (photo)
- Donating leftover food? The municipality will reduce your waste tax by up to 50 percent.
- Bike to work: Massarosa's project to encourage bicycle use
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