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..]

What legislation governs the establishment and operation of Alternative Investment Funds? Italian AIF’s are regulated mainly by: Legislative Decree of 24 February 1998, No. 58 on Consolidated Law on Finance (Testo Unico della Finanza, TUF); Bank of Italy Regulation of 19 January 2015, on the collective portfolio management (Regolamento sulla Gestione Collettiva del Risparmio); Ministerial [..Read more..]

Avv. Francesco Dagnino (Partner LEXIA Avvocati – www.lexia.it) Blockchain technology (or distributed ledger technology) could assume great significance for financial markets, understood in the broad sense. Among the many economic transactions that can be done through blockchain technology, the so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs) are spreading. ICOs represent a digital form of raising financial resources [..Read more..]

How to open a limited liability company in Italy? One of the key players and largest economies in the European Union, Italy has recently taken important new steps to position itself as a welcoming home for foreign investments. Despite the persistent bureaucracy, which is slowly being reduced, and through the help of specialized local advice, [..Read more..]