Setting a business up in Italy.

Over the last few months I have been contacted by a number of people operating businesses in Italy in varying capacities.  In a few of these cases it has been common place that the individuals concerned have set up and are operating their company in another lower tax jurisdiction within Europe, namely Ireland or the UK.


The big problem here is that, (take the case of someone renting out Italian properties to foreign holidaymakers), the company might be incorporated in another country and all the accounting and taxes paid in that same country, but the business activity is still in Italy.  And therefore the business activity is liable to tax and VAT in Italy, not overseas.

The fact is that you cannot choose where you prefer to pay tax for convenience or to avoid higher taxes in Italy.  The business itself is a matter of fact and should be incorporated accordingly.

This is a very risky strategy!  If you are not yet convinced then follow the link below to my blog posting written by a lady who has had all her assets confiscated by the Guardian di Finanza for doing this exact same activity.

Failure to set up a business correctly in Italy

The Guardia di Finanza can and will confiscate Italian resident assets, bank accounts, property, cars etc where they find businesses operating under this guise.  Throw in some immigrant employees who are being paid in the black for work provided and it is a potential field day for the authorities.

If you are concerned about how your business in Italy might be affected or would like to know more, you can contact me directly on 3336492356 or on email gareth.horsfall@spectrum-ifa.com