The 55% tax reductions for building retrofitting in Italy: the results of the ENEA’s four years activities

The tax deductions of 55%, in force since January 2007, represents the most generous system of incentives ever established by the Government to promote energy efficiency and sustainable economic development in the Italian real estate system. By the Finance Act 2007 and the subsequent implementation all efforts were addressed to limit the energy consumption during winter heating period. The results have been successful. Since 2007, 106,000 requests for deduction have been submitted. In the following years the public acceptance for this type of incentives has been further confirmed and strengthened. In late 2008, about 248,000 people had taken advantage of deductions. In 2009 the situation stabilized with 238,000 interventions, confirming the validity of the measure and the users’ satisfaction. In 2010, finally, the expectations have been achieved at the same levels of the previous years. During the first three years about 8 billion € spent by taxpayers, over 4,400 GWh of energy saved per year, roughly one million tons of CO2 emissions avoided. The validity of the incentives has been extended until the end of December 2011. The ENEA working group, appointed to manage the incentives, has supported the its renewal as represents benefits for the citizens and for the government in terms of tax return, energy saved and employment.