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Good question - I have no answer. The reduction for the house 'being under reconstruction' (with an approved concessione) is/was certainly dependent on the opinion of the comune. 

I don't like 'tipping' as a general rule, and completely agree that the American idea that it is 'obligatory' is wrong. However, I live in a fairly touristy, (that means 'seasonal') area, and although in February the restaurant is staffed by 'the family' (who I discourage people from tipping), in August the waitress is probably from Greece or Romania,and I think it is nice to give her a small tip. Clearly this doesn't go on the credit card, and it is 'under the table' so she can pocket it discreetly. Dunno - it's a personal choice - which is what it should be; and if the serviice has been lousy or she's been frowning - then it isn't deserved, and you don't offer it.

If you win something (more than €500) on one of the many lotteries which you can play in bars in Italy there is a tax - introduced a couple of months ago. It doesn't have to be declared, you just don't receive all of your winnings. Since I don't ever win, I had to look up the rate: it is 6%. It's not applicable to sporting bets - though the bookmakers now get clobbered by an extra tax if they have exceeded their normal 'margins' when setting the odds. The distinction between 'gambling' and a 'prize' is rather nice - the scratch card people would hate you to think you were gambling, though the bookies I'm sure don't offer prizes! 

Well, I find it absolutely impossible to believe that giving a tip to a waiter in a restaurant is against the law in Italy. I had a good google.it about, and found nothing beyond many discussions about whether it is a good idea, whether the restaurant owner snaffles all the tips, how to deal with tips and credit cards, how to try to ensure the waiter gets the 'service charge' etc. etc. I can't help feeling something has been misunderstood, or the statement referred to some ancient law. It is, of course, quite possible that this law has not been repealed (they never are) but I remain convinced that tipping - while voluntary - is not illegal in practice.

I haven't found anything clear on this yet, but my reading is that the tax imposed by the ½ûÂþÌìÌà authorities for ½ûÂþÌìÌà residents owning property abroad is imposed on the (resident in Italy) taxpayer. Thus, IMO, if the council tax on a UK property owned by an ½ûÂþÌìÌà resident is paid by the tenant (or is the responsibility of the tenant) I'd be of the opinion that it is not deductible from the 'ownership' tax accruing to the Italan tax payer. I accept that this is looking on the black side of things, but if I'm completely wrong at least you'll get a sigh of relief rather than a horrid shock, and I predict there will be a court case about this...four or five years down the line.

Certainly worth picking their brains

°¿±è³Ù¾±²õ²õ¾±³¾´ÇÌý They are usually located in shopping malls and the like. I'm by no means convinced they are any cheaper or more skilled than optometrists working in every small town, but if you like the Vision Express style then they maybe will work for you.

Yes, I have been caught out by that snaglet of having been logged off before! The thing about making a new post - which I had no intention of limiting to a 'group' (why would anyone want to do this?) - would not allow me (I have since discovered) to simply publish a post publicly. That option was greyed out - but the workaround (the webmaster would no doubt term it a 'feature') was to publish to 'a group', and then the public option was no longer greyed out. The chap/ess who posted a question about hedges (which so far I have not been privileged to access) clearly posted it (quite logically) to a 'gardening group' and neglected to tick the 'public' box. This results in any potential responder being obliged to have historically attached themself to the 'gardening group' - an access controlled by either a terminally absent admin person, or the long dead (potentially - pace if you are still alive and kicking!) originator of said 'gardening' group. My beef is basically - why does this forum, uniquely, make life so difficult? I don't care if some folks really want only to talk to their mates in 'a group'. Fine, but to make that the default posting option is absolutely nonsensical. I despair - if you want to do Facebook it is there for you - enjoy: but if this is supposed to have any use whatsoever as an open forum then strip out this crap. (Rant over!)

I've come in on this thread, because the original query was resolved in a friendly and helpful way, which is, to my mind, what forums are about. Then,I had a notion to start a new thread (as in make a post), and I had also hoped to share my knowledge about hedges. No way could I do either of these things. LISTEN whoever is administratring this forum -DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH? What percentage is in it for you to kill this thing? We have put up with a really absurd format - learned to use it, persevered to an extreme degree, but now 'access denied' and the inability to start a thread - okay, we get the message, you'd love us to just piss off. Don't you think you are being evil? There is still a bit of life here, and if you bastards would just cede this non forum maybe it could be flogged off at zero cost to someone who might devote five minutes of his (or her) life on a monthly basis to cherishing it.

Just because I was browsing the specialist paint shelves (as you do) I noticed a tin labelled 'zincato'. Now this paint was intended for bare metal, and claimed to make untreated steel 'fake galvanised': this is not what you need. Possibly your galv steel doors are a bit exposed to the sun, which means they will expand and contract quite a bit, and there are few paints which will cope with this - Hammerite is probably the best because it has a bit of flexibility. If you can't find anything which works then maybe embracing the 'shabby chic' aesthetic would be your best route!