Residency in Italy

Residency is one of those topics which is regularly used to try to determine where an individual may or may not be located for tax purposes.  The fact of the matter is that it is actually a matter of fact and not a choice.

Here are the facts as determined by Section 2 of the Italian Income Tax Code:



Employment income is considered 'produced' in Italy if the work activity (i.e business) is performed on Italian territory.

An individual is considered resident for tax purposes if, for most of the calendar year (i.e 183 days) is:

• registered with the Registry of the Resident Population (Anagrafe)
• or has his/her residence or his/her domicile in the territory of the Italian state, as defined by Section 43 of the Italian Civil code. 

According to Section 43 of the Italian Civil code:

• The place of residence is the place where the individual has the habitual abode
• The place of domicile is the principal place of business and interests of the indivdual. 

My opinion is that this might be the next big tax swoop in Europe, to try and clamp down on those people who are trying to determine residency in one territory but live in another.

It might be difficult to follow but since the imposition of having to put passport numbers and basic details on flights when booking on line, and registering passports at passport control it will become increasingly easier for Governments and border controls to establish, without a doubt, where an individual is resident for tax purposes. 

Long gone are the days of the passport stamp, other than for aesthetic purposes.  Once again computers have put an end to old outdated practices.