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LIVING AND
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TV TAX

In Italy, every home, office, even car that has a radio or television set has to pay the "Canone RAI" - which basically amounts to a "Television Tax" used to subsidize the public television stations: the RAI stations (RAI 1, RAI2, RAI3, etc..). The cost in 2005 of 99,60 Euro had to be paid by the 31.January. Or you could choose to pay in two installments, on Jan. 31 and July 31. Fortunately, the amount due does not depend on the number of radios and television sets in the home. And it is independent of the fact whether you watch the public TV channels or not. Or whether you watch TV at all, for that matter.

It may seem like a lot to watch "free" TV. But it is the lowest television tax in Europe, as you can see from the chart below:

There are many ways to pay for the "Canone RAI". Most banks have the forms (or a special form in their internet sites); you can pay at the local post office, or with a credit card over the phone or on the internet at Uniriscossioni. For more detail, you can go to the site of the Canone RAI. Keep in mind that when you will go to pay it for the first time, you will be asked your "Codice Fiscale" Number - as well as the address of the home or office where the TV set(s) is(are) located, so have this info handy. After you've paid it the first time, you will be assigned an ID number which you can use to identify yourself when making future payments.