Legislation of Italy

Service packages «Italy-Srl» Service packages «Italy-SAS» Legislation Tax System Audit Services

Tax treaties entered

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Tax Exchange Information Agreement (TIEA)

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List of state regulatory authorities

Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Register of Enterprises of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Register of Enterprises (access to information)
Department of Finance of the Ministry of Economy and Finance
Ministry of Justice
Italian Supreme Court
Central Bank of Italia
Finance Police of Italy

Corporate info

Legal system
Civil law
Types of entity
Joint Stock Company (Societa per Azioni, or SpA);
Limited Liability Company (Societa a responsabilta limitata, or SrL);
Limited Partnership (Societa in Accomandita Semplice, or SAS); and
branch of a foreign corporation
Shelf companies permitted
Yes
Incorporation timescale for a new company
3-4 days
Company suffix
SAS
Sensitive words
Bank, Insurance, Financial
Cyrillic alphabet permitted in company name
No
Local registered office
No
Local registered agent
No
Information to be kept at the registered office
Company documents
Seal required, type of seal
Not required
Redomiciliation (to, from) permitted
Permitted

Director and secretary

Minimum number of directors
1
Residency requirements for directors
No
Corporate directors permitted
Yes
Directors’ meetings/frequency/location
Yes / no requirements
Disclosure to local agent
No
Disclosure to public
Yes
Company secretary required
No
Residency requirements for a secretary
No
Qualified secretary required
No
Corporate secretary permitted
No

Shareholder and beneficiary

Minimum number of shareholders
1
Residency requirements for shareholders
No
Corporate shareholder permitted
Yes
Meetings/frequency/location
Yes / annually / registered office
Disclosure to local agent
No
Disclosure to public
Yes
Beneficiary info disclosure to
Yes

Shares and share capital

Minimum authorized share capital
No requirements
Minimum issued share capital
No requirements
Minimum paid share capital
No requirements
Authorized capital payment deadlines
No requirements
Issued capital payment deadlines
No requirements
Standard currency
EUR
Standard authorized share capital
1 000
Standard par value of shares
1
Shares with no par value permitted
No
Bearer shares permitted
No

Taxes

Personal tax
23-43%
Сorporate tax
24%
Corporate tax (in detail)
24% + IRAP (regional tax on productive activities, generally - 3,9%)
Capital gains tax
24%
Capital gains tax. Details
Capital gains are included into corporate tax base
VAT
22%
VAT. Details
For some goods and services, the tax rate is 10% and 4%.
Withholding tax
26% (dividend), 26% (interest), 30% (royalty)
Other taxes
Social contributions, Overseas property tax, Financial investment tax, Inheritance and gift tax, Registration tax. Stamp duties, etc.
Exchange control
No
Government fee
Stamp duty
1,5%

Accounts

Requirement to prepare accounts
Yes
Requirement to file accounts
Yes
Publicly accessible accounts
Yes
Requirement to file Annual Return
No
Publicly accessible Annual Return
No
Audit required
No

General information shortly

Location
Southern Europe
Total area
301 340 sq. km
Population
9 236 213 (2021)
Capital
Rome
National currency
Euro
Conditional reduction of currency
EUR
Against USD
1,08 (2024)
Climate, average max and min t°
Predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south; avg. maximum temperature (July) +24°; avg. minimum temperature (January) 0°
Time difference from Moscow
- 1 hours
Dialing code
+39
State language
Italian
Ethnic groups
Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south)
Literacy rate
99%
History
Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.
Credit rating
BBB-
Government type
Republic
Executive branch
Head of Government: Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. Government: Council of Ministers proposed by the Prime Minister and nominated by the President of the Republic.
Legislative branch
Bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) consists of the Senate (Senato della Repubblica) and the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati)
Judicial branch
Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale); Supreme Court of Cassation (Corte Suprema di Cassazione)
Unemployment
19,1% (2020)
GDP per capita rank
34 (2020)
Corruption perceptions index rank
56 (2021)

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