Federproprietà: flat rate tax and lower rents, saving neighborhood businesses

A fiscal lever to lower rents, reopen empty premises and support neighborhood shops. This is the request that Federproprietà addresses to the government in view of the next budget maneuver: to introduce the dry tax on commercial leases, providing that the benefit for the owners translates into an effective reduction in the rent for the operators.

"To stop commercial desertification, concrete interventions are needed: the dry tax could be one of these, if the tax savings also help those who keep the shop open", declare Giovanni Bardanzellu, president of Federproprietà, and Riccardo Pedrizzi, head of the association's Finance and Treasury Sector.

The numbers describe a progressive impoverishment of the commercial network: according to the analysis by Confcommercio "Cities and business demography", between 2012 and 2025 Italy lost around 156 thousand businesses including retail shops and street vendors. A previous projection by the association also indicates the risk of losing another 114 thousand retail businesses by 2035, in the absence of new urban regeneration policies.

"Supporting the middle class through taxation is an acceptable choice. But the maneuver must also look at small businesses that guarantee employment and services in the area. Rents, utilities, labor costs and tax pressure weigh on companies that have reduced margins and less possibility of absorbing cost increases", continue Bardanzellu and Pedrizzi.

For Federproprietà, a simpler and more convenient taxation of commercial rental income can encourage meetings between owners and operators, make rents more sustainable and encourage the reuse of vacant properties.

"The benefit must be shared: preferential taxation for the owner and a lower rent for the trader. This is the way to give the measure a concrete impact on local activities and the vitality of our cities". The closure of small businesses, the association underlines, has consequences that go beyond trade. It reduces services accessible on foot, especially penalizing the elderly and people with travel difficulties.