Buon Ferragosto

 

I wish you a Buon ferragosto and I hope you manage to stay cool in the 'Lucifero' African anticyclone currently covering the country. Keep your anguria close at hand!  As I write this newsletter, I notice that the hottest ever recorded temperature in Europe has been set in Siciliy at 48.8 degrees Celcius! PHEW!  As always, if you have any questions or would like to contact me about your financial  and/or tax planning needs in  Italy, then feel free to get in touch on gareth.horsfall@spectrum-ifa.com or on cell +39 333 649 2356.

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Conspiracy theories

 

Conspiracy theories I am not one for conspiracy theories surrounding Covid, but sometimes you come across passages when reading various books and you can't help but wonder if there is something more going on than meets the eye. I have been revisiting a book called the 'Sovereign Individual' written in 1997 (24 years ago!) by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg (yes, he is the father of that rather cringe worthy politician Jacob Rees-Mogg and ex-editor of The Times newspaper).   The book is about the rise of the Information Age, the internet and the effect it would have on all our lives, the politics and the actions that individuals and governments will need to take as a result of its impact on our lives. For the record, I don't agree with the general conclusion that one should seek out tax havens and move ourselves and our money until we find the lowest tax jurisdiction that will host us (that's the general theme of the book). But the book itself reads like a prophecy for the future. Its conclusions are eerily accurate. To put this into context, a few things about the internet in 1997:  Google.com did not exist In January 1996 there were only 100,000 websites globally. In 2008 there were more than 160 million. The web browser of choice was Netscape Navigator, followed by Microsoft Internet Explorer as a distant second. Do you remember dial-up internet connections, when it took about 5 minutes to load an internet page? Well, highly modern 56Kbps modems arrived in 1997. In 1997 Steve Jobs returned to Apple to take it over after being ousted by the directors years earlier. So, I think we can agree that the internet was in its infancy in 1997!!  In the book, they talk about how the internet will allow individuals and money to become globally mobile and neither will be bound by state borders as they previously had (that sounds about right). This would result in governments needing to find ways to restrict capital and labour flows across national borders.  One hypothesis that they come up with to deal with this does make you wonder if they had a crystal ball for the future. Read the text below:  The wealthy OECD countries impose heavy tax and regulatory burdens upon individuals doing business within their borders. These costs may have been tolerable when the OECD nation-states were the only jurisdictions in which one could do business and reside at a reasonable level of comfort. That day has passed. The premium paid to be taxed and regulated as a resident of the richest nation-states no longer repays its cost. It will be ever less tolerable as competition between jurisdictions intensifies. Those with the earnings ability and capital to meet the competitive challenges of the Information Age will be able to locate anywhere and do business anywhere. With a choice of domiciles, only the most patriotic or stupid will continue to reside in high-tax countries. For this reason, it is expected that one or more nation-states will undertake covert action to subvert the appeal of transience. Travel could be effectively discouraged by biological warfare, such as the outbreak of a deadly epidemic. This could not only discourage the desire to travel, it could also give jurisdictions throughout the globe an excuse to seal their borders and limit immigration.  It does make me wonder if someone read this book and then decided to run with it as an idea! Quite eerie in its accuracy.

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Non-EUR based cash deposits: the 7 day tax rule

 Non-EUR based cash deposits: the 7 day tax rule

Inspiration for this blog came from a client (they often do) who fell into one of those sneaky little finance laws in Italy that not many know about, nor really pay much attention to, including the Agenzia delle Entrate (AdE) so it would seem. However, laws are laws and as I have written many times before, the rollout of the Common Reporting Standard in 2016: the international accord to share financial and tax information between different countries is appearing more and more on my radar. I now get a steady stream of people who say they have received a letter from the AdE asking them to declare their financial position regarding assets/monies held abroad. 

In the case of the subject of this blog, this is not a law which has, as yet, been specifically identified by the AdE, but one might argue it is only a matter of time. 

 

 

€51645,69
or
1 million lira
 

The figure quoted above is important in relation to how much money you hold in deposits in foreign currencies (cumulatively) at any one time.     

There is a part of the Italian tax law (L’art.67, comma 1-ter del Tuir) relating to the application of capital gains taxes and capital losses, which would appear to be little understood by most. 

The law states that where you hold over €51645,69, (1million lira equivalent) cumulatively, in foreign currency accounts (non EUR) for a 'period of over 7 days', then when you transfer any of that money into EUR (or another currency), the amount exchanged is automatically subject to the calculation of capital gains tax (or losses) in Italy, because the transaction of changing money from one currency to another itself, is assumed, after 7 days of the money being held in deposit, to be a speculative transaction as the result of a 'trading operation' instead of merely a conversion of currency for any other means. 
 

How do I calculate my gains?
This is where it gets a bit complicated as you might imagine and is not quite as simple as the image above would make you believe.   

Without wishing to go into too much detail in this E-zine, you take the amount of euros (or other currency) that you end up with in your account 'after exchange', but then need to refer to a EUR cost of those monies at the time at which you originally received that foreign currency. You convert that sum into EUR using the Banca D'Italia exchange rate on the specific date or dates when they landed in your account, depending on whether you received the funds in one go or if they were accumulated over time.   

As you might imagine this could be hellishly complicated if you have been receiving monies in from various sources over a period of time. However, reference would have to be made to each deposit in non-EUR currency, and a EUR equivalent calculated on the day when it was deposited in the account. In the case where deposits are not documented, for whatever reason, then the Agenzia delle Entrate will refer to the worst monthly conversion rate to EUR for that said currency, in the tax period in which the liability arises (i.e. calendar year). This could work in your favour in some cases, and create additional tax liabilities in others, so care needs to be taken.  

Finally, if you do not convert all the funds in your foreign currency account into EUR then the 'last in first out' principle applies. This means you must refer to the latest deposit/s in any of your foreign currency accounts, which equate to the sum which you have exchanged to EUR or other currency, and use the Euro conversion value on the date that those funds arrived in your account.   

Sound complicated?  

It is!
 

The client I referred to at the start of this email was pulled up by her bank because the bank itself, Fineco, is Italian, and therefore where they see or suspect a specific activity they must warn the client that they need to take remedial action (in this specific tax case it is the declaration on the Modello 770).

In truth, a lot of you are using various currency exchange services, the most recent being Wise (ex-Transferwise). They are not an Italian institution and therefore are not obligated to tell you about this law, should it apply to you. The onus is on you to ensure that you make your tax declarations correctly and timely. However, without working knowledge of laws such as this one, then it is unlikely that you are going to do what you are supposed to do unless advised by someone like myself, or your commercialista highlights the fact to you.  

I hold more than €51645,69 in non-Euro deposits - what do I do now?

Before we start worrying about any capital gains tax or losses, there is the usual requirement to ensure that any foreign currency accounts are declared in your tax return every year and you pay the €34.20 'bollo' per account. 

In addition, we have this extra requirement that if you do hold 'more than' €51645,69 in foreign currency deposits in any one calendar year, you are a resident in Italy, and have held the funds on cash deposit for more than 7 days, and exchange some of that deposited money into another currency (euro or any other) then you have an obligation to calculate any potential profit/loss as a result of the exchange. 

To avoid this law the simple answer is to bring the euro value of your foreign currency deposits under this €51645,69 and ensure they stay under every year.  

If you are potentially in this situation then it might simply mean looking at your overall financial planning and whether you a) need to keep high deposits and b) seeing if you can find alternatives, such as money market accounts or low risk investments, whilst meeting any shorter term cash requirements that you may have.  

If you are unsure of your options or the way forward as a result of this law, then you can contact me to discuss your options on gareth.horsfall@spectrum-ifa.com or on cell +39 333 649 2356

 

Red, Red, Wine, stay cose to me...!

 As Lazio is in 'zona rossa' until Easter 2021, I can only think of one song title which keeps filling my mind as I relive the experience of DAD (didattica a distanza - online schooling) once again: 

Red, Red, Wineeeeeeee, stay close to meeeeeee! 


 

Between the sips, I wanted to share with you a few nuggets of information from the investment world in this newsletter.    
 

I was on a zoom conference call with Jupiter Asset Managers in London last week, and they were providing an update on financial matters, economic recovery and where they see the green shoots of recovery from Covid, as well as much more. As always, I am less interested in the technical talk and more interested in understanding the human story which can help us to make sense of what is going on and more importantly give us confidence that the people managing our money have their fingers on the pulse. 

So, here are a few things I learned and which might interest you as well. 
 

 

VACCINES AND HOLIDAYS

The first vaccine was approved on the 10th November 2020 and, apart from the slow uptake, and more recent issues surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccine, the logic is that the mass roll out of vaccinations will quite quickly relieve health services around the world and free up the space it needs to start economies functioning normally again. This will in turn get people back to work! The UK, interestingly, is well ahead with the vaccine rollout and should be one of the first major economies to open up fully again.

Now, you may have an opinion on how people may react once things start opening up again, but we also have an example of just what could happen when things return to normal and we don't have to look any further than the origin: China. 

China is effectively Covid free now, or at least they are managing to control any outbreaks through effective mass testing and isolation. From an economic standpoint they have rebounded well, posting growth of 2.3% in 2020 and up 6.5% in the last quarter, and it is worth remembering that they arguably had the most severely imposed and longest lockdown of any country. The recovery figures are impressive and you may wish to take them with as pinch of salt, but if they prove to be true then it would appear that economies can get back on track quite quickly. The question is whether EU countries will also follow a similar trend. I suspect after some initial hesitation, that human behaviour will quite quickly return to pre-Covid patterns. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to attend a really good music event again or have a great night out with friends. 

 

PENT UP CONSUMER BOOM

One side effect of Covid lockdown is that many people are 'stuffati' to have been at home for so long, and in many cases been unable to spend money that they have been continuing to earn/save throughout. This could unleash a potential consumer boom: splashing the cash, once restrictions lift. Think holidays, travel and experience based activities.  

As an example of this pent up demand we only need to look at the cruise ship sector. I don't think there is a better example of a sector which has been brought to its knees than the cruise holiday industry. Many of the ships can no longer afford the mooring fees in large docks and so, without any business, have moored offshore. Off the south coast of the UK there are so many now, that they have become a tourist attraction in themselves, even inspiring a local entrepreneurial type to start tours to see the cruise ships up close ... and which are proving to be quite popular, see link below (no comment!) 
 

https://thepointsguy.com/news/cruise-ship-spotting-tours/

Similarly, in Australia, enterprising airlines have been running flights for those people desperately missing airline travel. The difference with these flights is that they take off and land in the same destination, adhere to strict Covid health guidelines and are relatively short in duration. However, these are all temporary measures to keep money coming in and businesses from going bust. What they are really waiting for is things to return to normal.  
  
From an investment point of view this presents opportunity! It provides opportunities to purchase into businesses which have been severely damaged due to Covid but will benefit from a recovery: Rolls Royce for new aircraft engines and maintenance, Easyjet which has been working on the bare minimum of service, cruise liner companies themselves, the entertainment, music and leisure industries. Essentially, anything outside technology, communications, healthcare and utilities has performed pretty badly since March 2020.  

As the spread and effect of Covid is brought under control, so will prospects for consumer based companies increase. In fact, most of the investment management firms that we work with have already started to take positions in companies which will benefit from a post Covid consumer boom.   

 

WHEN?

If only I had a crystal ball! The biggest question with investing is when will it happen? That is something we cannot foresee right now, but it will happen. A recovery may present itself in different ways around the world. Human nature is such that different demographic groups may respond within different timescales. Those affected more greatly by Covid will obviously be more cautious moving forward. The younger generation are likely to respond more quickly. The art of the investment manager will be to get behind the right companies that will benefit the most at the right time.
 

CAUTIONARY NOTE: There is also a flip side to every coin and those sectors which have performed incredibly well recently: Tesla, Facebook, Amazon, Alphabet, Netflix, Google (FAANGs) for example, may see their stock prices slow or even fall back. These stocks, in particular, may also be affected more by Government regulatory policy in the coming years, than a return to pre-Covid activity levels.
 

ENVIRONMENT / SUTAINABLE / GOVERNANCE INVESTING (ESG)

You may remember that in 2019, I returned from our Annual Conference and wrote a newsletter about investment companies jumping on the ESG bandwagon. This seems to have continued unabated and now it would seem that virtually all new investment funds have some kind of Eco/ESG message.

The truth is that Eco/ESG related investing is a bit of a double edged sword. On one hand the financial and corporate world seems to be finally taking its responsibilities seriously, on the other hand, just how clear the lines are is another discussion altogether. I think that the lines around pure Eco/ESG investing are going to become more blurred in the coming years as mainstream players, laden with cash, are also going to be pouring into the sector. It will likely lose its specialist sector characteristics and start to look like the mainstream. As a simple example, we can use the oil companies, who we know have a terrible global carbon footprint, but who are also starting to become some of the biggest investors in sustainable energy: wind, solar etc. Another example that springs to mind is IKEA. I don't credit IKEA with high points in any of the ESG categories (maybe Governance!), but they are now investing heavily in a reclamation and recycling programme of old furniture. Could this make IKEA a good ESG investment for the future?  

Where it gets complicated for investors is when you have to choose from the information available to you. For help there are always companies, institutions and rating agencies who will score ESG investments and companies for us. The only problem with these is that they use different metrics and it is hard to compare like with like. 

MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International), ESG score Tesla one of the highest rated ethical companies for its rapid move into electrification of the automotive industry. FTSE, on the other hand, give it one of the worst ESG scores due to the fact that they need to use huge quantities of rare metals to produce the batteries, they have bad corporate governance and their profits are non-existent. So who are we to believe? My advice is to leave it the experts! We recommend funds like Jupiter Ecology fund, Janus Henderson Ethical fund, Liontrust Sustainable Future, and Regnan investor funds to clients due to their quality and due diligence in this sector. 

INFLATION

There is a lot of talk about inflation rising to significant levels when economies return back to normal. Whilst this is very likely in very elastic economies like the USA, it is likely to be less significant in the Eurozone, although it cannot be discounted altogether.  

Price inflation normally follows wage inflation and there appears to be little chance of the opportunities in employment changing significantly in Europe even when Covid passes. The under 25 year old unemployment rate in Italy is now at approximately 30%. The depressed employment market in Europe is, in general, more to do with endemic long term demographic and political problems than anything caused by Covid. Covid has just exacerbated the problem. That doesn't mean to say that the situation cannot be changed for the better, but the EU will have to go big and bold ... don't hold your breath! 

Despite the EU being unlikely to make significant changes, there is a real threat of increasing prices for many goods and services, especially where they are imported from abroad. The world of trade is more interconnected than ever and inflating prices in one area of the world could very quickly seep through to other parts of the globe. How do we counter this effect with our money? Don't sit on too much cash and invest your money for the future! Don't think that you can deal with any inflationary issues when they happen. By that time it is too late and the cat is out of the bag. If you are concerned about protecting your lifestyle long term, you need to make your money start working for you straight away. You just want to preserve your ability to take regular holidays, pay the increasing gas bill, or even ensure that you have sufficient funds in old age to pay for medical care. Whatever the reason, get ahead of inflation and don't play catch up when it is too late!     

There are a few points in this newsletter which may interest you and as always if you require further information or clarity on any of the topics aforementioned then please feel free to get in touch on gareth.horsfall@spectrum-ifa.com or text/call on +39 333 649 2356

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Bitcoin is exploding again!

 

Bitcoin is exploding again! What is it and should you buy it?  Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency. No physical coins exist, only balances kept on a public ledger which everyone has access to. There are only 18,628,050 Bitcoins in circulation and the maximum number that ever existed/exist is 21 million. The difference between those in circulation and those that ever existed are the Bitcoins which have been lost and which can be mined.  The blockchain Bitcoin uses a technology called blockchain for its security and transparency of transactions and it is why it is being watched carefully by governments around the world as a potential future currency.  I won't try and explain the blockchain, as I really don't understand it myself fully, but what we can say is that it could be a good way for governments to introduce a currency where every coin's movement is recorded and monitored and which governments could access, should they need to, as a way to effectively remove the issue of tax evasion as discussed above.  Should you buy Bitcoin?  You may have seen on the news that Bitcoin is reaching new price heights again in the last month and there appears to be renewed interest in it as a potential investment. Firstly, you should know that Bitcoin is an unregulated investment, so should you lose your Bitcoins (lose your access codes) then you will have no protection from a regulatory authority to get them back. In addition, Bitcoin appears to go through these periods when its price goes stratospheric (let's call this what it is: speculation) followed by a complete slump in price which follows shortly afterwards.  My simple advice would be, if you are keen on buying Bitcoin, then wait for the next slump and don't buy in at today's prices. A slump will come although I can't tell you when. That would seem to be the most sensible point to purchase Bitcoin and then hold.   How much should you invest?  I think the safest answer to that question is however much you can afford to lose. For transparency purposes, I bought Bitcoin a few years ago, and invested a 'very' small amount, which has performed exceptionally well, but it was an amount which I could lose forever should the worst happen.  Bitcoin or Bitcoin cash?  There are now many different cryptocurrencies out there, and I can't comment on any other than Bitcoin and Bitcoin cash, since I know little to nothing about the others.  There is an alternative to Bitcoin, called Bitcoin cash. The main difference is that Bitcoin cash was created to get around the problem of Bitcoin only having a finite number of cryptocurrency coins in circulation and also the time it takes to make a Bitcoin transaction.  To put this into perspective, Visa can process 150million transactions each day, or 1700 per second. Bitcoin can transact a mere 7 times per second and the more interest it attracts the longer the wait is. Hence, it is clearly not a substitute for common currency...yet. The slow rate of transaction boils down to the technology of the blockchain and the amount of data which needs to be stored against each coin (remember the whole history of the coin is registered each time a transaction is made). Bitcoin Cash was created to get round this problem by effectively reducing the length of the blockchain of information and improving transaction times. However, this comes with the risk of being less secure.    Store of value or potential future currency  All this being said, Bitcoin is being touted as a potential store of value as an asset in much the same way as Gold. There is also finite resource of gold in the world and the price swings according to demand. Bitcoin doesn't pay dividends or interest, (like gold) and can't even be made into jewellery!  Bitcoin Cash has much more potential as a mass market tradeable currency! If you feel that you need to buy Bitcoin, or any other digital currency, then the best thing is to do some research, click HERE for details, and trade in when the market collapses. Invest a small amount of money that you can afford to lose and sit tight. Who knows what will happen?    What we do know is that the Chinese government is one of the biggest miners of lost Bitcoins and that governments such as Sweden and Estonia are seriously looking at introducing their own cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are coming, and clearly have potential, just how much and what part Bitcoin will play in that evolution is anyone's guess. Maybe Italy will be the first to introduce a fully operational cryptocurrency...you heard it here first!   If you want to speak about any of these issues or would just like a general financial planning review for your life in Italy, then you can contact me on email gareth.horsfall@spectrum-ifa.com or message/call me on +393336492356

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Enter the Draghi!

 

There is nothing like a change of administration in Italy to get my fingers tapping away on my keyboard again. Almost as soon as Mario Draghi was announced as the new head of the technocrat government in Italy, then there was plenty to write about again. 

So, what is on my mind so soon after my last blog If you haven't guessed already it's the subject of tax again. 
 

Reforms afoot? 

I think for about as long as I can remember I have been writing about proposed tax reforms in Italy. I remember the tax reforms which never really saw the light of day from 2014 to 2016 when Matteo Renzi was PM of Italy. Equally I remember the flat tax plans of Salvini during his 15 months in power, which once again went nowhere.  

So, can Mario Draghi push through some well needed reforms in one of the world's most complicated tax codes, systems of deductions, detractions and incentives? Let's have a look at what is currently being discussed. 

Tax free allowance in Italy? 
Firstly, Draghi and his team want to re-structure the income tax code in Italy to make it more favourable for the mid-low income earners. They purportedly want to keep the current system of progressive tax rates (because it is fairer) but modify them to a) assist lower-mid income earners and b) also provide stimulus to workers so businesses can grow and flourish early on rather than, as is presently the case, taxing income too high, too quickly. 

The talk is that Draghi is very keen on the German model of progressive tax rates which can be seen below: 

Taxable Income for single taxpayers: 

Income Band                               Tax Rate
€0         to €9408                            0%
€9409   to €57051                         14% - 42%*
€57052 to €270500                       42%
€270502+                                      45%

* Your rate of tax in this band is determined based on your total income.
° Married and civil partnership couples are assessed together and the band levels above are doubled (not the tax rates!)
 

You will notice that the German progressive tax rates have a nil rate band, otherwise called a tax allowance, similar in structure to many other progressive tax regimes, e.g. the UK and USA.  

The nil rate band is particularly popular because it means that the first 'x' amount of income is not taxed for anyone.  Presently, Italy has a system of tax credits, which mimic the tax allowance for some people, but mean that income is still taxed, even at a lower level, and then a tax credit needs to be applied for each year.  
 

Funding the shortfall 

The big question is how does the Italian government fund this tax change, because it is a tax reduction for most people. They will purportedly do it in 3 ways: 

SIMPLIFYING A COMPLEX SYSTEM

It is assumed that the currently complex system of deductions, detractions and bonuses/credits etc will be overhauled and that a number of them will be pulled altogether or simplified. Personally, I am in favour of simplification. The current system is far too complicated and I often find that people have not applied for, or haven't deducted expenses for certain benefits to which they are entitled, but no one has informed them (a.k.a. their commercialista). Hence a simplified tax code would likely benefit more people who need it.  
 

PROPERTY TAXES

This is always a sensitive subject for political parties in Italy but one of Draghi's ideas is to reintroduce the idea of a tax on the Prima Casa: IMU. I am sceptical as to whether he would get that through because it is such a political hot potato in Italy, but it is being thrown about as an option. However, the other idea is to review and revise the system of valore catastale. This value, which is used for a number of taxes (see below), has not been revised for many years and so is usually a value which can diverge widely from the true market value of a property.   

A revision to bring the valore catastale and the market value of a property more in line with each other would be a clear increase in taxation and would increase the following imposte:

Successione:              

The tax  calculated on a property in Italy on death (succession or inheritance).
Donazione:                 

Calculated in the same way as the above, but rather than the tax paid on death, it is paid when a property is donated during the life of an individual. 
Imposta di Registro:  

The tax paid to register the atto when a property is bought.
Imposta Ipotecaria:    

Tax paid when a property is re-registered. 
Imposta Catastale:     

Similar to the imposta ipotecaria for a transfer of a property into another's ownership. 

(All the above are calculated using the valore catastale as their base value, with various coefficients applied to arrive at the correct taxation). 
 

Most of the taxes listed above are for one off events, such as purchase or re-registration of a property. The valore catastale would also affect the ongoing taxes for property owners which are payable each year, namely: 

TARI:  The refuse tax
IMU:  The tax on second properties (currently!) 

FLAT TAX REGIMES

One last tax reform could be the possibility of bringing a stop to various flat tax regimes.  Currently, Italy offers a range of flat tax offers to various categories of people.  The ones that mainly affect my clients are:

1. The regime forfettario flat tax regime of 15% taxation on incomes up to €65000pa.
2. The 7% pensionati flat tax is the offer of a 7% taxation for a period of 10 years for anyone who is taking a pension income and takes up residence in a southern state in a comune with less than 20000 registered abitanti.
3. The €100000 per annum for 15 years, flat tax regime, to attract the wealthy to transfer their residency in Italy.

If the noises that are currently being heard are correct, then Mario Draghi is not a great fan of flat tax regimes and he may look to overhaul the system with these in mind.

CLAMPING DOWN ON TAX EVASION 

The third, and more important way that Draghi is proposing to raise tax revenue, without raising taxes on the most needy, is to clamp down on tax evasion.

The Common Reporting Standard 

Apart from the usual issue of payment in cash in Italy which is beyond the scope of my E-zine, the main thing to note about the tracking down of undisclosed financial information, particularly abroad, is the 2016 Common Reporting Standard. This is a multilateral agreement between almost all countries in the world, to share financial information with one another based on the residency of any individual and not the location where an asset is held.   
 

 

In Italy, it is evident that it is in full force and I have seen, on a number of occasions, that it works seamlessly.  
 

 

Not a week goes by when I am not contacted by someone who has assets reported incorrectly or have failed to declare them in Italy. In many cases it is done unintentionally, but the tax code does not make exceptions for the unintentional or 'I didn't know I had to do it'. The question I am asked is 'will they be able to find out?' and my response is always 'I think we can assume that they know, and if they haven't contacted you then it is their choice not to do so rather than a question of them not knowing'.  

Low hanging fruit

Given that Draghi is stating that he wants to go after undeclared assets, then I would suggest that based on the multilateral share of tax and financial information agreements, undeclared or incorrectly declared assets will be low hanging fruit for the Agenzia delle Entrate and easy pickings. So, as I reported in my previous  E-zine:
 

'If in doubt, declare the account'
(and your income/assets/gains too)

Tax savings for most 

I am regularly accused of being a bit of a doomsayer on my E-zine but I am only trying to report the information and we mustn't forget that should these tax reforms proposed by Draghi and his team then it would most likely mean a net reduction in tax for most people. By how much, we will have to wait and see. 

The bigger question is to what extent the proposed reforms will gain parliamentary approval and to what degree they will be watered down. I am naturally pessimistic when it comes to this particular point, but I have been surprised by the actions that Italy has taken on a few occasions in the past. The most recent of course, was the decision to go into hard lockdown at this time last year due to the spread of the virus. Italy was viewed as a leper by most other nations around the world, but the decision was quickly replicated and acknowledged by other nations as the best and most sensible option at the time. 

If you want to speak about any of these issues or would just like a general financial planning review for your life in Italy, then you can contact me on email gareth.horsfall@spectrum-ifa.com or message/call me on +393336492356

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Things can only get better!

Will things change for the better post Covid 19?
 

Nearly everyone I speak with at the moment keeps asking, will the world get better and will we care more for the world and each other as a result of Covid? Have we learned our lesson about sustainability, ecological damage and the lifestyles we lead?

Life in the time of coronavirus

As I write this blog financial markets are entering free fall due to the events surrounding coronavirus in the last few weeks, no more so than in Italy.