The Italian government is considering granting foreign-registered aircraft an exemption from the business jet tax it enacted late last year. The tax, which currently imposes a levy on all civil aircraft that spend more than 48 hours on the ground in Italy, could total more than $393,630 annually for aircraft weighing more than 10,000 kg/22,046 pounds, NBAA has estimated.

On Tuesday the Italian parliament passed a decree to extend the exemption time period to 45 days–which EBAA understands are consecutive, not cumulative–over a one-year period. “We are not sure yet when the decree will enter into force,” EBAA told AIN.

While the extension is being welcomed, the decree also introduces a new charter aircraft passenger tax. “This new tax on ‘air taxis’ will be paid by each passenger for each leg and is equivalent to €100 [$127] on legs of less than 1,500 miles and €200 [$254] for legs above 1,500 miles; the fee will be paid by the operator,” according to EBAA.

NBAA said, “Italian policymakers are taking a step in the right direction” with the proposed 45-day extension. But until the new bill is passed into law, NBAA said operators “should assume that the original bill is in effect, and that operators will be subject to the tax if they remain in place in Italy for more than 48 hours at a time.”