The increase in the concession tax for public land, in many cases with the doubling of the amounts that traders have to pay, was at the center of a meeting requested of the municipal administration by Cna Siracusa. “We expressed our dissent towards a provision that arrived without any discussion with the interest categories,” says Santi Lo Tauro, Cna’s citizen representative. There was no concertation and an increase of 100% hit artisans and traders in some cases. “Unacceptable”, comments Lo Tauro. “It is unacceptable because it affects all the city’s activities without distinction of area. It is unthinkable, for example, that the value of its audience is the same for an activity in Ortigia rather than in other areas of the city. These are increases which, moreover, are not justified even by an improvement in services which to date, especially in the historic centre, are not tangible”. Considerations that were reiterated to the mayor and councilor Pierpaolo Coppa, present at the meeting together with most of the council.
But there is no room for a step back on the substance of the provision. At least not for this year. In this case, the decision will be reviewed for 2025. “We hope to find alternative solutions”, reveals the city representative of Cna, opening up the possibility of opening a dialogue in the City Council to try to review the scope of the provision.
“If you want to discourage further investments in Ortigia, these are certainly not the methods,” adds Lo Tauro. The reference is to the now imminent moratorium which will block new openings of bars, pubs, restaurants, pizzerias and the like in the historic center for three years to instead encourage commercial investments in other areas of the city.
“Concertation must, however, remain a guiding method. There must always be a minimum level of discussion with the categories involved before taking measures that affect the city” warns Cna Siracusa.
