ML-Implode News - A Tax Cut for Cleaning? Italians Take Up Bartering in Stagnant Economy

In the Tuscan town of Massarosa, Alessia Signorini pulls weeds in a local park for tax discounts. Riccardo Porta barters the bread he bakes in Sardinia for meat. Rome restaurant owner Fiorentina Ceres buys and sells goods with a currency that doesn't touch a bank.
Amid a long stretch of economic stagnation, some Italians are finding novel ways to cope, embracing corporate barter, alternative currencies and even deals to lower taxes by performing civic duties.
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In Massarosa, a town of around 22,000 north of Pisa, municipal officials offer residents a 50% discount on their garbage collection tax -- which can amount to a reduction of up to EUR450 ($538) a year -- in exchange for community service such as cleaning roads or gardening public spaces.
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Ms. Ceres, the Rome restaurant owner, turned to one last year after struggling to get credit from banks. The local parallel currency Tibex, named after the city's river Tiber, a allows her to barter goods and services, freeing up cash for other uses. "It has been a lifesaver," she says.

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A Tax Cut for Cleaning? Italians Take Up Bartering in Stagnant Economy