Covid-19 emergency measures: New rules for remote shareholders’ meetings and extension of the term to approve the yearly financial statements The emergency measures against COVID-19 also apply to the corporate framework. First, under the Italian law the shareholders’ meeting for the approval of annual financial statements must be convened within 120 days from the last [..Read more..]

Read our guide on the COVID-19 Emergency Italian labour law framework.

Which investments qualify as investments into a “company incorporated and operating in Italy” under the Golden VISA legislation? Under Italian immigration law, one of the options to qualify for Golden VISA is to “invest at least € 1 million in equity instruments of a company incorporated and operating in Italy, to be held for at [..Read more..]

Taxation of Italian Companies. The taxation of the income of an Italian company is based on its aggregate income earned both in Italy and abroad. This articles provides an introduction to corporate tax in Italy, outlining the types (IRES and IRAP) and rates of income tax and explaining how such tax is calculated. Corporate Tax [..Read more..]

Come and work in Italy and have up to 90% of your employment income tax free The preferential tax regime for “inbound workers”(a tax regime aimed at attracting to Italy non-resident employees / self-employed workers), provides for a 50% exemption of Italian-sourced employment (and assimilated) and self-employment income. The preferential tax regime applies for the [..Read more..]

Rewarding scheme for “highly-qualified” workers that want to relocate to Italy. The Italian government has recently implemented incentives for “highly-qualified” workers that want to relocate to Italy. The rewarding system consists in a lowering of the personal income tax base to the extent of 50% and it applies from the tax year in which the [..Read more..]

SHARE CAPITAL 1    Types of shares and denomination a     Introduction Only the SpAs and SapAs corporate capital is divided into shares while the corporate capital of an Srl is divided into quota which represents the amount of the corporate capital owned by each member. Shares must generally be of equal nominal value (this need not [..Read more..]

Types of Italian companies and incorporation process. This document provides an introduction to Italian corporate law, the main source of which is chapter 5 of the Italian Civil Code. The main source of Italian corporate law is the chapter V (libro V’) of the Italian Civil Code (the ‘Civil Code’) which defines and regulates the [..Read more..]

MANAGEMENT AND STATUTORY AUDIT OF AN ITALIAN COMPANY. In Italy, companies are managed either by a Board of Directors (consiglio di amministrazione) or by a sole director (amministratore unico). The Board of Directors or the sole director can delegate certain management powers to non-directors to facilitate the day-to-day management of the company. This document discusses [..Read more..]

Acquisitions and joint ventures. Italian Decree Law No 58/98 and the regulations made under this law provide, amongst other things, the legal framework for public offers for the acquisition of shares, whether these are listed on the stock exchange or not. This document discusses matters relating to acquisitions of company shares in Italy, covering: public [..Read more..]

Publicly available information on Italian companies Registrar of Companies The ‘Registro delle Imprese’ (Register of Enterprises) was formally established in 1996, by Presidential Decree No 581/1995. All Spas, Sapas and Srls must be registered with it and must file a wide variety of documentation and information with the Register of Enterprises. The filing is required [..Read more..]

Hiring framework The Employer Q. Is it mandatory for an employer establish a relevant body and register at public bodies before hiring employees? A. Yes, it is. Q. Who wants to hire employees in Italy must establish a relevant body (legal entity, like an «S.r.l.» or, at least, a branch; a rep-office is not enough). [..Read more..]

Read our guide on doing business in Lombardy

Read our Guide on National and Regional Incentives for Companies and Individuals in Italy.

Italy has recently taken important new steps to position itself as a welcoming home for foreign investments. Compared to the past, it is becoming increasingly attractive to open companies in Italy for non-EU and EU residents, also from a tax point of view. Please find below general information on some of the main tax incentives. [..Read more..]