We are not American Tourists who come here and eat tagliatelle, drink Sassicaia 92, visit Duomo and see fuzzy Italians in Naples, then go back home and say Italy is great!!! We are from here, we work here, and raise our families, are taxed to death, by the Govenment, and then are blackmailed by the Mafia, N'Drangetta, and Camorra!!
(It is hard to distinguish the above organizations from the government, they work together!!)
A few years back my wife and I took and off-season tour of Rome, Florence, and Venice. It was us and one other couple and it was their second time so they spent a lot of time on their own, leaving us with a personal guided tour.
Anyway, our guide told us that Italians are taxed out the wazoo for everything, including the length of exposed pipe on your building and the amount of shadow your balcony casts onto public right-of-way (sidewalk or street). I don't know if he was exaggerating to make a point or if things really are that bad. Oh, I also understand that you don't want to have a TV in every room over there, either, with that pesky annual TV tax.
There was also a big protest demonstration on our last day in Rome. Something to do with a new tax so that Italy would qualify for the Euro or inclusion in the ECU or something like that. |
