The 2018 budget law introduces the green bonus, which encourages condominiums and private individuals to create new green areas in cities. How it works and who can benefit from it.
In these days marked by high levels of pollution in most urban centres in northern Italy, a glimmer of hope has emerged for the new year: the government has recently announced the entry into force of the green bonus for the creation and regeneration of gardens, terraces and green areas. Francesco Mati, president of the floricultural and nursery product Federation of Confagricoltura, has specified that from 2018 onwards, "anyone who has a house with a garden where major pruning is needed, or has a diseased hedge to replace with a healthy one, or even an irrigation system to install or replace" will be able to benefit from tax relief.
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Included within the 2018 Budget Law, the green bonus allows condominiums or citizens who own individual residential units to deduct from their taxes 36 per cent of the costs incurred for the creation and maintenance of green areas, up to a maximum ceiling of 5,000 euros per property.
This is a major innovation, in an experimental phase for one year, which adds to the extension of the already existing Econobonus, under which it is possible to deduct 65 per cent of costs for the energy renovation of buildings and 50 per cent for renovations and works involving windows or the installation of condensing and biomass boilers.
The green bonus will be applicable both to condominiums and to private owners of villas or independent units who have invested money in gardens, terraces, the installation of green roofs, coverings, and the planting of trees and shrubs. Specifically, those who will benefit from the new incentive are all individuals who, following the creation of new green areas or the restoration of existing ones, are able to document the costs actually incurred.
The measure has been conceived to boost urban greenery which, looking at the latest data published by the Istituto nazionale di statistica (Istat), remains very scarce, amounting to just 31.1 square metres per inhabitant, corresponding to 2.7 per cent of the territory of provincial capitals.
Coldiretti itself has expressed satisfaction with this measure for its capacity to have a positive impact on the quality of the air we breathe, reiterating how important green areas in cities are for reducing smog and at the same time for preserving biodiversity. "A mature tree," it stressed, "is capable of capturing between 100 and 250 grams of fine particulate matter from the air; one hectare of plants eliminates around 20 kilograms of dust and smog in a year."
Strongly championed by the Agrinsieme coordination body, which brings together Cia – Confederazione italiana agricoltori, Confagricoltura, Copagri and Alleanza delle cooperative agroalimentari, the green bonus represents a major boost to the floricultural and nursery sector made in Italy, within which more than one hundred thousand workers are employed — that is, more than 10 per cent of all agricultural employees.
According to Mati, this measure would be the solution to many of the problems affecting the sector and beyond, delivering very significant results: "from an increase in employment to the surfacing of undeclared work, rising property values, ecological and environmental regeneration of built-up areas, a reduction in the urban heat island effect, improved air quality and consequently an improved quality of life." Because a simple garden or terrace can make a difference both in bringing colour to urban areas and in turning them into environments that are finally liveable.