Municipal Solidarity Fund: data available on OpenCivitas

OpenCivitas is the web portal promoted by SOSE and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, providing Italian local authorities with data and information on public finance. A new webpage is now available reporting the data on the Municipal Solidarity Fund for each Municipality belonging to Regions with Ordinary Statute. 

What is the Municipal Solidarity Fund? 

The Municipal Solidarity Fund aims to ensure an equitable allocation of financial resources to municipalities and is financed with the municipal share of the IMU revenue. The Municipal Solidarity Fund was established in 2013 within the municipal federalism plan when the financial relationship between the State and local authorities was profoundly redesigned by suppressing traditional state transfers replaced with municipal tax revenues and equalizing resources. 

Which data are available? 

The user can select a municipality from the specific navigation box and view the data relating to five years, from 2017 to 2021. The table includes: 

The Allocation of historical resources: in this section, it is possible to consult the data relating to the equalization of resources historically allocated to local authorities (ICI and tax revenue), calculated as the difference between gross historical resources (line A) and IMU and TASI revenues (line B); 

The Allocation of standard resources: this section of the table displays the equalizing resources allocated to minimize the differences between the Municipalities. In this case, the resources to be distributed to municipalities are calculated as the difference between their standard financial needs (line D) and their standard fiscal capacity (line E). 

The Municipal Solidarity Fund endowment: in this part of the table, it is possible to find all the components of the Fund. One of the most significant is the "Compensation for lower IMU and TASI revenues" (line M), a state transfer introduced in 2016 to compensate the municipalities for the abolition of IMU and TASI on the primary residence. 

Where can I find the final result? 

The final Municipal Solidarity Fund endowment (line T) is calculated by adding the net endowment (line R), representing all the components of the Fund endowment, and the Refund of share paid in advance by all the municipalities to establish the Fund (line S). It is entirely refunded in the Final Endowment.  

Why is the Municipal Solidarity Fund so important? 

The Municipal Solidarity Fund is an essential piece of our fiscal federalism. The progressive increase of the share allocated according to the system based on standard expenditure needs - fiscal capacity, is essential to overcome the historical expenditure criterion. The legislator has provided a gradual increase of the equalization quota until it covers 100% of the resources in 2030, allocating resources equally and reducing waste and inefficiency. 

The publication on OpenCivitas of the data concerning the Municipal Solidarity Fund will help citizens, administrators, social partners, and the world of information improve the shared knowledge necessary to promote an active citizenship. 

Click here to access the FSC page

Click here to watch the video with the Guide to reading FSC data