Tourists pose for pictures with them, for which they are usually asked to pay some amount of euros, others point them out with delight and snap away, offering a handful of change, and yet others, those who are a bit more familiar with Roman history, think it's pretty stupid to see a bunch of grown men (most of whom are probably unemployed) dressed up in rented or purchased centurions' costumes and wandering around the outskirts of the Coliseum and the Roman Forum. But if the Rome city government and the Lazio region have their way, the counterfei centurions may have to find other jobs.
Once upon a time, back in the mid-nineties, some of those dressing up today as Roman soldiers had permits as "street artists" but those authorizations have not been renewed since 2000 and the Roman police, not known for their commitment to the rule of law, have long tolerated the would-be warriors' presence around some of the capital's most important antiquities.
What's different now? Who knows? On March 26, the Region of Lazio, the region that surrounds the city of Rome, issued a decree forbidding people masquerading in historical costumes, street actors, and musicians from performing in this area. In addition, the city government is considering a ruling that would forbid, street actors, painters, acrobats, mimes, jugglers and other mountebanks from exhibitions in the city's piazzas for more than two hours at a time, only between ten a.m. and one p.m. and between 4 pm and 8 pm, and at at least ten meters distance from any church or place of worship. This seems pretty reasonable to me but let's see what happens. This city is well known for passing rules and then not instructing the people who work for them - for example the city police -- to enforce them.

All this and MUCH MUCH more

Yes, Virginia, there can be a genuinely Italian secular government.  In an unusual and unprecedented move, the technocratic government headed by economist Mario Monti announced last week that it plans to change the law in a way that would require the Catholic Church here to pay taxes on real estate property that is used for commercial purposes. This would efectively put an end to decades of across-the-board tax exemptions for church property and make Italy more progressive than our own country where, surprsingly enough, most church property is generally tax exempt, some sources claiming that the value of untaxed church property in the U.S. may amount to as much as $100 billion dollars.

The new regulation, onced passed by Parliament, will mean that for the first time, the extensive properties owned by the Vatican in Rome or by the CEI, the Italian Bishops, Conference, throughout Italy  - and which include hotels, pensions, restaurants, shops, hostels, convents that accept paying guests and so on- will no longer be exempt from taxes. Previously, this was the case just so long as one part of  a Church-owned building had a religious function. In other words, set aside a room for a chapel, and there you are, ipso facto, not exempt from taxation. Churches, themselves, will not be affected if they are used exclusively for religious purposes and private Catholic schools, the existence of which is said by some to save the Italian State close to five billion euros a year, will also be exempt as long as any profits they accrue are poured back into the institution's didactic activities.

The change in the law was called for by the European Commission which in 2010 charged that tax exemption for the church could be considered  illegal state aid that could skewer competition. Interetingly enough, when Monti was a European Commissioner  from 1995 to 2005,  he was in charge of anti-trust issues. Estimates say that the new taxes could bring in revenues of  as much as $2.5 billion annually. The problem now is exactly to whom these monies will be given. A previous real estate tax known as ICI (from which most Church properties were exempt)  went to municipalities. The proceeds of the latest version of ICI, which is called IMU, will be divided between a municipality and the national govenment. The Monti government has apparently registered the degreeto which most Italians, now facing growing unemployment, and higher taxes, are increasingly fed up with privileges, of any sort, by politicians and prelates alike. In December, 130,000 people signed an online petition calling on the government to revoke the church's tax-exempt status.

Rome Registry office on a bad day

The government headed by Italian prime minister Mario Monti, this week continued its battle to bring Italy into the modern age by issuing a third major decree that hopefully will make life easier for the country's often frustrated citizens. The "simplify-Italy" package follows the controversial "liberalization" reform that is leading to protests from several high-visibility special interest groups  such as taxi drivers, lawyers and notaries, and is the third major undertaking  - the first being the Save Italy austerity plan) by the government of technocrats that took office following the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi in November. A fourth major reform, on the labor market (good luck with that Mario) is expected in March.

And what with the price of gas...

The decree says that when used government limousines - generally large, luxury sedans - it should be because it is a necessity and not to confer prestige. In other words, except for the highest-level officials, the cars should no longer be assigned to a particular person but to an office. All too often, politicians or sometimes other officials have been known to use these cars for private use, such as taking their wives shopping or getting to the stadium on time.

A census is now underway and if data is not yet complete, so far it would appear that the two regions with the highest number of "auto-blu" are Liguria and Tuscany (both traditionally governed by the moralizing center-left. On the central level, the cars are generally bought by individual ministries or other state offices. The ministry of Defence is reported to have had a "parco macchine" - a fleet - of around 1700 cars but recently purchased 4000 Maserati luxury sedans. I don't know how many the Interior (police) ministry has, but it should be remembered that hundreds of Italian officials have been assigned police escorts that generally include at least two cars, both of which probably bullet-proofed.

One can only imagine the expense involved, collectively, in running all these cars. But if savings would account for only a small percentage of Italy's mammoth debt, limiting their use would send an important signal to a population being called upon to pay more and higher taxes.

Senate personnel is very highly paid

It's hard to gauge exactly what kind of approval rating the new Italian government has, but it seems obvious that its popularity (or lack thereof) among ordinary Italians may depend on whether or not it is prepare to challenge some of the country's powerful lobbies, including Italy's overpaid MPs and the people who work for them. At a time when people here are going to have to pay higher real estate taxes, receive lower pensions or be forced to continue working for more years than he or she thought, there is a great desire to see cuts imposed on the pay checks, indemnities, and privileges enjoyed by those working - in one capacity or another - in the political sector. And I believe that if this government can create a groundswell of popular support behind it, that it will be difficult for Italy's parties to unseat it before regularly scheduled elections in spring, 2013. Otherwise, they may get antsy at being left on the outside.

And about time, too!

On December 30, 80 tax inspectors descended on the luxurious winter resort of Cortina D'Ampezzo in the Italian Alps and brought about a Christmas wonder. Cafes, restaurants and stores selling luxury goods that a year earlier (and two years earlier as well) had done vey little business, suddenly saw their daily earnings increase by from 300 to 400 percent. "Miracolo!", a miracle, the newspapers trumpeted. Actually, there was a more terrestrial explanation for the sharply increased revenues: The arrival in town of the inspectors clearly led all these businesses to ring up all sales on their cash registers instead of unobtrusively slipping bank notes into the cash drawer.

Earlier this year the New York Times wrote a story which referred to tax evasion as the "Italian national sport". I thought that was pretty stupid, banal and hardly original, as it has been said (stupidly) before. There are several reasons why so many people in Italy cheat on their taxes, and while they are often inter-related, none of those even remotely resemble a game.

In any event, the figures are HORRIFIC and it is understandable that the Monti government - which was appointed to get  Italy's accounts into order - has seemingly serious plans to really crack down on cheaters. Statistics published in major Italian newspapers in recent weeks give a good idea of just how serious is the problem. Mind you, these figures have been published many times, before, every time some politician or analyst starts wringing his or her hands over a situation about which nothing is ever done. This time, hopefully, things will be different since Attilio Befera, currently the head of the Agenzia delle Entrate (the Italian IRS) estimates that every year Italians fail to pay €120 BILLION in taxes owed, that's $156 BILLION).

Aaaaah. No Silvio here!

A week ago, Italy's new prime minister Mario Monti, announced the "Save-Italy" emergency austerity package designed to save some 30 billion euro in 2012 and to set in motion some virtuous tax and reform that hopefully will put this economically and financially-troubled country back on track. But the last word has yet to be said.
The austerity package was passed as what the Italians call a "decree-law", a temporary decree which then has to be voted into law by parliament and the legislature is now examining the more than 800 amendments that have been tabled.

Italy's new prime minister, economist Mario Monti, is burning the midnight oil, scurrying back and forth between meetings with European and EU leaders in Brussels and elsewhere cabinet meetings in Rome where he is putting together what is expected to be a 20 million euro austerity package that will be including important structural reforms. The plan is also supposed to include some economic stimuli to ward off the recession that the Paris-based OECD predicted this week for Italy in 2012.

OECD said in report that next year Italian GDP will contract by 0.5%, that overall unemployment will rise from 8.1% to 8.3% (and to 8.6% in 2013), but that prices will rise by only 1.6% compared to 2.7% this year.

The most important of the expected structural reforms is that of pension reform; something that has been talked about for years here but which previous governments have shied away from because of possible political repercussions. This week Italian newspapers predicted that the Monti government of technocrats and other experts would be raising the number of years of work needed to retire from 40, as of now, to 41 or 42. The unions have already said this was unacceptable but it is unclear at this stage if they can be persuaded to go along with the government's plan. It is also being said that the new minister of Welfare, Elsa Fornero, is planning to greatly speed up the Berlusconi government's plan to bring the retirement age for women up to 65, the same as for men.

Strangely enough, for the time being Italy's major political parties, including both Berlusconi's PdL and the left of center PD, seem to be carrying through on their pledge to support the Monti emergency cabinet. Berlusconi has repeatedly said he would oppose any plans for a "wealth tax" (the current talk is of a special levy on annual incomes of over one million euros). But generally speaking he continues to praise Monti, saying he is "working well". The former prime minister, relieved of his government duties, has been spending his time attending court sessions of some of the trials he is involved in; after all, he can no longer claim immunity as head of government. All in all, he has been keeping a low profile which is, most agree, a considerable change for the better, a real relief.

Also striking, and I myself am most surprised by this, the parties seem to agree that the Monti government need not be short-lived, as originally imagined, but could last until the regularly-scheduled elections of spring, 2013. The new premier, however, has reportedly agreed not to get involved in very political questions like a new electoral law. But who knows. The parties may decide that it might not be such a bad idea after all, especially if they can reach an agreement behind the scenes that would avoid the public bickering that has led many Italians to become really turned off.