EU & Italian International Tax Law Blog

US Tax Administration Issued Final Regulations on FATCA Implementing International Tax Reporting and Compliance

Marco Rossi — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 17:17:16 -0500

On January 17, 2013 the IRS issued final regulations providing rules on information reporting by foreign financial institutions (FFIs) and withholding on certain payments to FFIs and other foreign entities.

Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 (FATCA), enacted as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010, P.L. 111-147, U.S. withholding agents are required to withhold tax on certain payments to foreign financial institutions (FFIs) that do not agree to report certain information to the IRS regarding their U.S. accounts and on certain payments to certain nonfinancial foreign entities (NFFEs) that do not provide information on their substantial U.S. owners to withholding agents.

The regulations finalize the proposed rules issued last February, making a number of changes in response to comments. As a result, the 389-page proposed regulations have become 544-page final rules, with a lengthy discussion of which comments prompted changes from the proposed regulations.

One area of simplification in the final regulations is the integration of model intergovernmental agreements into the reporting requirements of the regulations. There are two types of intergovernmental agreements: reciprocal agreements and nonreciprocal agreements, which are called Model 1 IGAs and Model 2 IGAs. A jurisdiction signing a Model 1 IGA agrees to adopt rules to identify and report information to the IRS that meets the standards in the Model 1 IGA. FFIs that are in Model 1 IGA jurisdictions report the information about U.S. accounts required by FATCA to their respective governments, which then exchange this information with the IRS. FFIs in Model 2 IGA jurisdictions must comply with the FATCA regulations except to the extent the relevant IGA provides otherwise.

The IRS announced that, to date, seven countries have entered into model agreements with the United States: Norway, Spain, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, and Switzerland. Discussions with more than 50 countries are ongoing, and more agreements are expected to be signed in the near future.

In recognition of the burden that complying with FATCA entails, the final regulations, among many other things:

Phase in over an extended transition period the timelines for withholding, due diligence, and reporting and align them with the IGAs.
Expand and clarify the types of payments subject to withholding, particularly for certain grandfathered obligations that are not subject to the rules and certain payments made by NFFEs.
Expand and clarify the treatment of certain low-risk institutions, such as government entities and retirement funds, provide that certain investment entities may be subject to being reported on by FFIs with which they hold accounts rather than being required to register as FFIs with the IRS, and clarify the type of passive investment entity that financial institutions must identify and report.
Streamline the compliance and registration requirements for groups of financial institutions, including commonly managed investment funds.

The regulations have become effective when published in the Federal Register (scheduled for Jan. 28, 2013).

Reciprocal Inter Governmental Agreement Will Introduce Automatic and Reciprocal US-Italy Disclosure and Exchange of Information For Tax Purposes

Marco Rossi — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:09:24 -0500

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was enacted by the United States Congress in March 2010 and became effective on January 1, 2013. It is intended to assist US efforts to improve international compliance with US tax laws and will impose certain due diligence and reporting obligations on foreign (non-US) financial institutions which hold financial accounts for US customers. Under the new law, foreign financial institutions will provide to the U.S. tax administration automatic information about their US customers' financial accounts.

On 26 July 2012, the U.S. Department of the Treasury published a Model Inter Governmental Agreement which will form the basis of bilateral IGAs with jurisdictions that wish to adopt this alternative means for their financial institutions to comply with FATCA while minimizing compliance burdens.

Italy joined the U.S. with a groups of other countries in a Joint Statement announcing that Italy will enter into and use the reciprocal agreement with the United States to implement FATCA and enact a system of reciprocal automatic exchange of information pursuant to which:

- Italian banks and financial institutions will provide the US tax administration with information about Italian banking and financial accounts held by U.S. customers with Italian banks in Italy,

- U.S. banks and financial institutions will provide Italy's tax authorities with information about US banking and financial accounts and investments held by Italian customers with US banks in the United States.

The Model IGA follows the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service's release of proposed FATCA regulations, and the simultaneous announcement of an intergovernmental alternative to FATCA implementation, on 8 February 2012.

On January 17, 2013 the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Services issued the set of Final Regulations implementing the information reporting and back up withholding tax provisions of FATCA, with far reaching implications for U.S. taxpayers with Italian bank and financial accounts, as well as Italian taxpayers with US bank and financial accounts, in addition to foreign financial institutions as well as US banks as explained above.

It is now out of question that FATCA will be fully implemented, and as soon as the reciprocal IGA is signed, the new system of automatic and reciprocal exchange of information between Italy and the United States pursuant to FATCA will be in place.

As a result, Italian taxpayers with banking and financial accounts with US banks would have to make sure that: 1) those accounts are properly reported on Model RW of their Italian tax return, 2) any income arising from those accounts is properly declared and subjected to tax in Italy, 3) Italian tax on foreign investments deposited on those accounts is regularly and timely paid.

Conversely, US taxpayers with Italian banking and financial accounts would have to make sure that 1) they report their Italian accounts on the US foreign bank account report ("FBAR") due within June 30 each year, as well as on form 8938, and 2) any income arising from their Italian accounts is properly reported and taxed in the United States.

As a result of FATCA and implementing IGAs, international tax reporting and compliance is now mandatory and no longer optional, considering that tax authorities will have automatic access to relevant information to use for their audits and enforcement activities.

Italian International Tax Reporting Rules Through Part RW of Italian Tax Return

Marco Rossi — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 15:40:14 -0500

Italian resident taxpayers are required to report to the Italian tax administration their foreign financial investments and assets, which can generate foreign-source income subject to tax in Italy. They report their foreign investments by filling out a special part of their annual income tax return referred to as form RW. Taxpayers who are not otherwise required to file an income tax return (e.g., those who earn only salary income reported on form 730 equivalent to form W-2 in the United States) must file a full return just for the purpose of reporting their foreign investments on Part RW.

Italian international tax reporting through form RW is very extensive in scope and accompanied by very harsh penalties with very limited opportunities to rectify past mistakes or failures. It includes personal assets other than financial investments (e.g. personal residences, boats, jewelry, artworks). One section of form RW is used to report the value of the reportable assets at the end of the taxable year. Two separate sections are used to report outbound, inbound and foreign transfers of money or other assets relating to foreign assets subject to reporting (i.e. additional investments and disinvestments through purchases, sales or transfers of reportable assets).

Reporting may be particularly complicated when foreign investments and assets are held through trusts or other foreign entities. Depending on the tax classification and treatment of the entity or trust the taxpayer may be exempt from reporting, required to report his or her own interest in the trust or entity itself, or required to report his or her own undivided ownership interest in the underlying assets held through the entity, with totally different results.

The duty to report revolves around several fundamental tax concepts: tax residency of the taxpayer, ownership of the asset, and tax nature of the asset and associated income.

Italian tax residency rules are far reaching and often based on technical and heavily factual tests. As a result, many non-Italian nationals who spend significant time in Italy for personal or business purposes or have personal, investments or business interests in Italy should act very carefully, especially now that the Italian tax agency is stepping up its enforcement actions in the effort of collecting additional revenue.

Indeed, if it turns out that they should be treated as resident of Italy for Italian tax purposes, they would automatically face the issue of not having reported their non-Italian assets, with all potential penalties associated with it, in addition to the main issue of having failed to file and their tax returns and to pay any taxes due.

International tax reporting rules are very technical and complex to administer. Italy’s tax administration issued a general guidance on international tax reporting of foreign assets and investments with Circular n. 45 of September 13, 2010.

Italy’s tax administration is increasing its enforcement activities in the area of international tax law and is using banking information about inbound and outbound international transfers of money as starting point to begin audits on international taxpayers.

Audits usually begin with questions about the nature and source of the transfers, taxpayer’s tax status and reasons for not reporting them when the transfers do not show up on taxpayer’s tax returns.

Enforcement of reporting obligations is particularly strict since the enactment of the third version of Italian international tax amnesty in 2009-2010 (after the first of 2001-2022) specifically aimed at repatriation of foreign unreported investments.

In the light of the above, taxpayers must pay specific attention to their reporting obligations through form RW of their tax returns. Foreign taxpayers with (personal and business) activities, interests and contacts in Italy must use extra caution in determining whether the extent of their presence and contacts in Italy may be such that they may be considered resident of Italy for Italian tax purposes.

In the latter case, they would be subject to Italian tax reporting obligations independently from and in addition to their obligations to report their income and pay their taxes to Italy, with potential harsh penalties for any past failure to report and very limited possibilities to remedy the past failure and mitigate their penalty exposure.

Form RW reporting requires extensive study for taxpayers who use trusts and entities to hold and manage their investments portfolio or business interests.

Any efforts is essential to avoid or minimize the risks of being exposed to unexpected tax duties for which going back in compliance may prove to be impractical or particularly painful.

We have prepared an overview of the rules which should help identify the general issues and raise the level of awareness in this particularly challenging area of law.

Italian Supreme Court Reverses Course on Permanent Establishment Issue

Marco Rossi — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 19:17:41 -0500

With its Ruling n. 3769 issued on March 9, 2012, the Italian Supreme Court significantly departed from its previous line of decisions on the issue of characterization of a foreign-owned Italian company as the permanent establishment of its foreign parent.

The case in which the ruling has been issued involved Boston Scientific S.p.A., an Italian joint stock company ("BS SPA") whose stock is owned for 99 percent by Boston Scientific B.V. ("BS B.V.") a Dutch company and for the remaining 1 per cent by Boston Scientific Corporation, a U.S. corporation ("BS USA"), which in turn controls BS B.V.

BS USA was engaged in the business of designing, manufacturing and selling medical equipment and devices. BS SPA operated as commission agent for BS B.V. for the purpose of the marketing and sale of the products of BS USA in Italy and the EU.

From the summary of the facts as reported on the Supreme Court Judgment it appears that BS SPA acted under the management direction and control of BS B.V,, operated exclusively for BS B.V. as its only client and signed sales contracts with customers under its own name although in the interest of and pursuant to the final approval from BS B.V.

The Italian tax agency took the position that BS SPA lacked economic and legal independence from BS B.V. and it operated as agent of BS B.V. according to the substance of its business dealings with its principal and final customers, even though it normally signed the contracts in its own name. As a consequence, the tax agency re-characterized BS SPA as the permanent establishment of BS B.V. in Italy and assessed additional taxes and penalties on BS B.V., which should have accounted separately for its sales of products carried out in Italy through BS SPA, file its own Italian corporate tax return and pay the Italian corporate income tax on its net profits from its Italian sales accordingly.

Both the Italian Tax Court and the Appellate Court ruled in favor of the taxpayer and rejected the agency re-characterization and tax assessment, motivating their decisions with the fact that BS SPA had its own separate business organization of which it sustained all the costs, had assumed the economic risks of its business operations and was legally bound by the contracts it signed with the final buyers of the products under its own name as seller.

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Appellate Court concluding that it was sufficiently and adequately motivated and that the grounds for appeal set forth by the tax agency were not sufficiently explained and could not be considered.

The Court in particular referred to the provisions of article 5 of U.S.-Italy tax treaty and argued that the Italian tax agency failed to explain the reasons why those provisions should be read in a way to create a permanent establishment when an Italian company contracts under its own name and risks and bears the economic cost of its business organization through which it conducts its business in Italy, for the sole fact that it is owned and controlled by a foreign company and operates under the supervision and directions of its foreign parent company.

Ruling 3769 is very encouraging. Indeed, the ruling seems to depart from the Supreme Court's previously established case law stemming form its 2002 decisions in the Philip Morris case and to provide more clarity for foreign businesses which plan to expand their operations into Italy.

Imprese italiane che investono sul mercato americano: migliori pratiche legali e fiscali

Marco Rossi — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 07:59:13 -0500

Il 17 Settembre scorso ad un convegno organizzato dalla American Chamber of Commerce in Italy a Milano abbiamo illustrato i principali aspetti legali e fiscali che le imprese italiane che investono sul mercato americano si trovano ad affrontare. Gli Stati Uniti, grazie alla loro competività e flessibilità, ad un mercato dei capitali estremamente evoluto, alla totale assenza di discriminazioni e barriere e a una grande propensione a premiare le capacità, lo spirito imprenditoriale ed il merito, offrono formidabili opportunità di crescita e sviluppo del business alle numerose imprese italiane di piccole e medie dimensioni dotate di prodotti o servici unici o di alta qualità e di know how e tecnologia che le pongono in posizione di vantaggio competivo rispetto alla concorrenza. Allo stesso tempo, il sistema legale e fiscale USA richiede estrema attenzione e professionalità sia al momento dell'ingresso sia nella fase successiva della gestione del proprio business negli USA, e non tollera improvvisazione. Tra gli aspetti da curare vi sono quelli contrattuali, relativi ai contratti di distribuzione, agenzia o collaborazione commerciale stipulati con partners commerciali e ai contratti con i clienti, gli aspetti societari, amministrativi e organizzativi (scelta della migliore forma societaria, costituzione e capitalizzazione della società, apertura conti bancari, assunzione del personale e libri paga, assicurazioni, gestione della contabilità e dei bilanci, licenze e permessi, eccetera), e gli aspetti fiscali relativi alle imposte sul reddito, federali e statali, e alle imposte indirette sulle vendite e sui consumi. Alleghiamo la nostra presentazione con la discussione dei suddetti aspetti, su cui è bene sollevare il livello di allerta ai fini di una corretta gestione ed esecuzione del proprio piano di business negli Stati Uniti.

Presentazione Università Roma Tre 17 Maggio 2012

Marco Rossi — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:49:19 -0500

In data 17 Maggio 2012 presso l'Università degli Studi di Roma Tre, nel contesto del master per Giuristi e Consulenti di Impresa gestito dal Prof. Tinelli, lo studio MQR&A ha riferito sul tema "Aspetti internazionali della fiscalità americana di interesse per gli investitori esteri".

La relazione, sia pure sintetica, ha inteso offire un breve excursus sui principi fondamentali di diritto fiscale internazionale americano applicabili agli investimenti e alle attività estere negli Stati uniti.

Gli Stati Uniti costituiscono tuttora il maggiore mercato del mondo di destinazione di attività e investimenti internazionali e attraggono costantemente imprenditori, professionisti, personale d'azienda e investitori esteri. La conoscenza del regime fiscale applicabile a questa categoria di soggetti ed attività è cruciale, in un contesto sempre più difficile e complesso di crescente globalizzazione e maggiore attenzione da parte delle amministrazioni fiscali.

Presentazione API Torino 14 Maggio 2012

Marco Rossi — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:38:29 -0500

In data 14 Maggio 29012 lo studio MQR&A ha presentato alle imprese italiane interessate presso l'Associazione delle Piccole e Medie Imprese di Torino una relazione dal titolo "Fare Business negli USA - Casi di studio e analisi dei principali profili legali e fiscali".

Le imprese italiane che fanno business con o negli USA sono numerose. Le forme di business variano dalla esportazione diretta dall'Italia o vendita tramite agenti e distributori locali, alla fornitura di beni con prestazione di servizi accessori (installazione, assistenza post vendita) tramite proprio personale in loco, alla costituzione e gestione di società di diritto locale controllate dalla capo-gruppo o casa madre italiana.

Ciascuna forma presenta peculiarità e aspetti giuridici e fiscali che devono essere gestiti in maniera consapevole onde evitare rischi. Il sistema legale e fiscale americano è complesso e non consente di operare in maniera improvvisata.

La presentazione aveva lo scopo di fornire una disamina sommaria dei suddetti aspetti che consenta alle imprese di mettere in atto il giusto set up e la corretta struttura di gestione legale e fiscale dei propri affari e delle proprie attività negli Stati Uniti.

Article on the section LEGAL of Italian newspaper FINANZA & MERCATI

Marco Rossi — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:51:17 -0500

We provide below the link to an article on the U.S. Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program appeared on the section LEGAL of the Italian newspaper FINANZA & MERCATI:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/55738639/Finanza%26Mercati.pdf

IRS Announced Reopening of Tax Amnesty Program For Undisclosed Foreign Financial Accounts

Marco Rossi — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:08:24 -0500

On January 9, 2011 the Internal Revenue Service reopened the offshore voluntary disclosure program to help people hiding offshore accounts get current with their taxes and announced the collection of more than $4.4 billion so far from the two previous international programs.

The IRS reopened the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) following continued strong interest from taxpayers and tax practitioners after the closure of the 2011 and 2009 programs. The third offshore program comes as the IRS continues working on a wide range of international tax issues and follows ongoing efforts with the Justice Department to pursue criminal prosecution of international tax evasion. This program will be open for an indefinite period until otherwise announced.

“Our focus on offshore tax evasion continues to produce strong, substantial results for the nation’s taxpayers,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “We have billions of dollars in hand from our previous efforts, and we have more people wanting to come in and get right with the government. This new program makes good sense for taxpayers still hiding assets overseas and for the nation’s tax system.”

The program is similar to the 2011 program in many ways, but with a few key differences. Unlike last year, there is no set deadline for people to apply. However, the terms of the program could change at any time going forward. For example, the IRS may increase penalties in the program for all or some taxpayers or defined classes of taxpayers – or decide to end the program entirely at any point.

“As we’ve said all along, people need to come in and get right with us before we find you,” Shulman said. “We are following more leads and the risk for people who do not come in continues to increase.”

The third offshore effort comes as Shulman also announced today the IRS has collected $3.4 billion so far from people who participated in the 2009 offshore program, reflecting closures of about 95 percent of the cases from the 2009 program. On top of that, the IRS has collected an additional $1 billion from up front payments required under the 2011 program. That number will grow as the IRS processes the 2011 cases.

In all, the IRS has seen 33,000 voluntary disclosures from the 2009 and 2011 offshore initiatives. Since the 2011 program closed last September, hundreds of taxpayers have come forward to make voluntary disclosures. Those who have come in since the 2011 program closed last year will be able to be treated under the provisions of the new OVDP program.

The overall penalty structure for the new program is the same for 2011, except for taxpayers in the highest penalty category.

For the new program, the penalty framework requires individuals to pay a penalty of 27.5 percent of the highest aggregate balance in foreign bank accounts/entities or value of foreign assets during the eight full tax years prior to the disclosure. That is up from 25 percent in the 2011 program. Some taxpayers will be eligible for 5 or 12.5 percent penalties; these remain the same in the new program as in 2011.

Participants must file all original and amended tax returns and include payment for back-taxes and interest for up to eight years as well as paying accuracy-related and/or delinquency penalties.

Participants face a 27.5 percent penalty, but taxpayers in limited situations can qualify for a 5 percent penalty. Smaller offshore accounts will face a 12.5 percent penalty. People whose offshore accounts or assets did not surpass $75,000 in any calendar year covered by the new OVDP will qualify for this lower rate. As under the prior programs, taxpayers who feel that the penalty is disproportionate may opt instead to be examined.

The IRS recognizes that its success in offshore enforcement and in the disclosure programs has raised awareness related to tax filing obligations. This includes awareness by dual citizens and others who may be delinquent in filing, but owe no U.S. tax. The IRS is currently developing procedures by which these taxpayers may come into compliance with U.S. tax law. The IRS is also committed to educating all taxpayers so that they understand their U.S. tax responsibilities.

More details will be available within the next month on IRS.gov. In addition, the IRS will be updating key Frequently Asked Questions and providing additional specifics on the offshore program.

The IRS Issues Guidance on International Tax Reporting For U.S. Citizens or Dual Citizens Residing Outside of the United States

Marco Rossi — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:24:19 -0500

The Internal Revenue Service (U.S. tax administration) issued guidance (in the form of Fact Sheet FS 2011-13) on international tax reporting requirements for U.S. citizens or dual citizens residing outside of the United States.

In essence, the Guidance provides that U.S. citizens or dual citizens living and working abroad with (1) no tax balance due on their U.S. income tax returns (due, for example, to foreign tax credits for foreign taxes paid on their unreported foreign income earned in a foreign country, which offsets any U.S. tax due on that income, or U.S. foreign earned income exclusion excluding from U.S. tax certain employment income earned outside of the U.S.) or (2) a tax balance due but where the failure to report foreign income and pay associated residual U.S. taxes on it was due to reasonable cause (lack of proper advice or knowledge about the duty to report and tax such income), can file delinquent or amended tax returns and rectify past mistakes and will not be assessed late filing or late payment payment penalties. In addition, there will be no penalties assessed on those same individuals with respect to late filings of their Foreign Bank Account Reports reporting foreign financial assets if their failure to file was also due to reasonable cause.

The Guidance includes two examples: one where the income tax return results in no balance due and the other where a balance is due, with an explanation of reasonable cause for failure to file resulting in no penalty for late filing of income tax return, late payment of income, or late filing of FBAR.

In general, in order to establish reasonable cause for failure to file or report foreign income, the taxpayer must show that the failure was not due to negligence and that “ordinary business care and prudence in meeting tax obligations” were exercised. The IRS will evaluate the facts and circumstances of each case and, depending on the taxpayer’s situation, a lack of knowledge or proper advice of U.S. filing obligations may constitute reasonable cause.

It should be noted by taxpayers covered by this guidance that, beginning with 2011, individuals with greater than $50,000 in foreign financial assets will need to include IRS Form 8938 with their individual tax returns. Form 8938 is due with the U.S. tax return within the same deadline and it is separate and in addition to the FBAR.

Italy's New Tax on Foreign Real Estate Property

Marco Rossi — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 08:39:43 -0500

Recent legislation enacted by the Italian government to improve Italy's budget and stem the sovereign debt crisis introduced a new tax on real estate properties located outside of Italy. The tax is charged at the rate of 0.76%, calculated on the purchase price of the property as appearing from the purchase documents or alternatively on the fair market value of the property. A tax credit is granted, reducing or offsetting the Italian tax due, for any property taxes paid to the country in which the property is located. Individual taxpayers residing in Italy for tax purposes are liable for the tax. This include foreign nationals who work and live in Italy and file Italian individual tax returns as Italian residents. Based on the language of the statute, properties owned or managed through offshore or foreign entities are not subject to the tax. Taxpayers who directly own rental or investment properties outside of Italy are encouraged to restructure their investment and own and actively manage those properties through a foreign owing or managing entity to avoid the application of the tax.

2012 New Self-Reporting Requirements For Foreign Financial Assets

Marco Rossi — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:07:13 -0500

Starting with the tax year 2011, the new IRS Form 8938 must be filed by all U.S. persons if total foreign financial assets exceeded $50,000 at any point during the year. Form 8938 will be in addition to the long-standing Treasury Department FBAR (Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Report) required for financial assets abroad that exceed $10,000 and shall have to be filed together with the federal income tax return for the year.

Furthermore, Form 8621 (Passive Foreign Investment Company – PFIC) must now be filed every year for each separate PFIC investment where as previously it was only required to be filed in years that distributions were made from the PFIC investment. Finally, the statute of limitation for IRS audits of returns listing foreign sourced income has been extended to 6 years (previously 3 years).

Where non-compliance is “non-wilful,” failure to file form 8938 results in a minimum $10,000 penalty but may rise to as much as 40% of the value of the asset or account. This is in addition to the tax due and interest due. Non-compliance deemed “wilful” may result additionally in criminal prosecution.

While FATCA does not change the existing penalties resulting from failure to properly report such as the FBAR and Form 8621 (PFIC report), FATCA will result in a dramatically increased enforcement of these rules and therefore U.S. citizens and residents (including Americans living abroad and foreign nationals living in the U.S) should become familiar with the very significant penalties associated with these and other reporting requirements.

Trust and family and succession planning

Marco Rossi — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 07:50:29 -0500

Trusts are very important tools for family and succession planning. Italy enacted specific provisions on the tax treatment of trusts for income tax and indirect (transfer) tax purposes. However, Italy does not have specific legislation on trusts, and trusts for Italian clients or Italian assets must be formed and operated in accordance with the legislation of a foreign country that contemplates rules on trusts. Among the most reliable and sophisticated legislations on trusts are those of the States of the United States, including Delaware and New York. Every time the settler, beneficiaries and trust assets sit in different countries (Italy and abroad) the coordination of the tax treatment in Italy and in the foreign country poses daunting issues but also offers interesting planning opportunities. Below we refer you to a recent article appeared on Italia-Oggi in which we provide our perspective on our experience in forming and managing trusts for Italian clients:

http://www.lawrossi.com/images/stories/docs/Italia_Oggi_Trust.pdf

Trust e pianificazione familiare e successoria

Marco Rossi — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 07:39:45 -0500

Il trust è uno strumento molto importante per un'efficace pianificazione familiare e successoria. L'Italia ha adottato una specifica normativa fiscale sul trust ai fini delle imposte dirette ed indirette, ma non ha una legislazione civilistica in materia e i trust per clienti italiani devono necessariamente essere costituiti in base alla normativa di uno stato estero che contempli questo istituto. Tra le varie legislazioni si segnalano, per affidabilità e grado di elaborazione, quelle degli stati degli USA, tra cui Delaware e New York. Ogni qualvolta costituente, beneficiari e beni del trust si trovano in stati diversi (in Italia e all'estero), il coordinamento tra il trattamento fiscale del trust in Italia e quello applicabile nel paese estero richiede particolare attenzione nella messa a punto di questo strumento, ma nel contempo offre formidabili opportunità di pianificazione. Segnaliamo di seguito un recente interessante articolo in materia apparso su Italia-Oggi, con un nostro contributo e punto di vista relativo alla nostra esperienza in materia di costituzione e gestione di trust USA per nostri clienti:

http://www.lawrossi.com/images/stories/docs/Italia_Oggi_Trust.pdf

Interview with MQR&A on Italian financial newspaper Italia Oggi

Marco Rossi — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:30:28 -0500

An interview on Marco Q Rossi & Associati has been published today on the Italian financial newspaper ITALIA OGGI. We attach below the file with the full account: www.lawrossi.com/images/stories/docs/MQR_Italia_Oggi.pdf

Obblighi di Reporting per Investimenti Esteri: La Saga Continua

Marco Rossi — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 08:52:55 -0500

Secondo quanto riportato di recente su Bloomberg, diverse banche svizzere sarebbero in procinto di siglare un accordo con il fisco americano a chiusura di un contenzioso in materia di evasione fiscale. In forza dell'accordo le banche si disporrebbero a pagare una somma in via transattiva e fornire al fisco americano le informazioni sui propri clienti cittadini o residenti americani. L'accordo chiuderebbe una procedura civile avviata nei confronti di 11 banche svizzere responsabili, a detta del fisco americano, di avere aiutato i contribuenti americani a evadere le imposte. In base alla normativa fiscale USA, coloro che sono soggetti ad imposta sui redditi negli USA - tra cui cittadini americani residenti in Italia, tassati in base alla cittadinanza, e cittadini italiani residenti negli Stati Uniti, tassati in base alla residenza - sono tenuti a dichiarare conti e investimenti detenuti al di fuori degli USA mediante un apposito modulo (Foreign Bank Account Report, in acronimo FBAR) equivalente in sostanza al modulo RW del Modello Unico italiano, e a dichiarare i redditi derivanti dai predetti conti ed investimenti. Eventuali imposte estere danno diritto ad un credito di imposta ad eliminazione della doppia imposizione. Negli ultimi tre anni gli Stati Uniti hanno adottato due programmi di incentivazione a riportare conti e depositi esteri con somme non dichiarate beneficiando di sconti sulle sanzioni dovute. Anche a prescindere da questi programmi, il sistema fiscale USA consente in generale di presentare dichiarazioni tardive che correggono errori o mancanze pregresse e in caso di buona fede è possibile evitare sanzioni. L'attenzione dell'amministrazione fiscale e la pressione sulle banche estere sono molto forti e si sta registrando un trend sempre più marcato verso forme di trasparenza e rilascio di informazioni a fini fiscali che stanno inducendo molti contribuenti a mettersi in regola con il fisco.

Imprese italiane con clienti e contratti negli USA: rischi e potenziali oneri fiscali

Marco Rossi — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:13:33 -0500

Riteniamo utile segnalare una serie di situazioni che stiamo seguendo sempre più frequentemente per conto dei nostri clienti. Le imprese italiane che vendono beni e servizi a clienti americani devono porre particolare attenzione agli eventuali obblighi e oneri fiscali cui potrebbero essere soggette negli USA, anche quando non hanno una società controllata, filiale o sede secondaria sul territorio degli Stati Uniti. Infatti, salvo i casi di pura esportazione di beni senza alcun ulteriore contatto con gli USA, è altamente probabile che vi siano situazioni tali da generare tali oneri e che eventuali distrazioni possono anche essere costose.

Ci riferiamo, in particolare e a titolo esemplificativo, a casi in cui l'impresa deposita i propri beni in un magazzino negli Stati Uniti, eventualmente anche messo a disposizione da terzi, dispone di un agente o distributore americano, oppure insieme ai prodotti fornisce anche servizi di installazione, assistenza post vendita o riparazione tramite proprio personale negli USA. In questi casi, l'impresa potrebbe essere considerata "fare business negli USA" (engaged in a trade or business o in acronimo ETB) ed è quindi soggetta ad imposta negli USA sull'utile derivante dalla fornitura o dal contratto con il proprio cliente americano (effectively connected income o in acronimo ECI) in base alla normativa fiscale americana interna.

La convenzione contro le doppie imposizioni tra Italia e Stati Uniti potrebbe esentare da imposta, ove non si disponga negli USA di una struttura organizzativa di natura tale da costituire una stabile organizzazione, ma tecnicamente al fine di fruire dell'esenzione occorre presentare comunque una dichiarazione dei redditi negli USA insieme ad un modulo con cui si invoca l'applicazione del trattato illustrandone le ragioni.

Nel caso in cui non si presenti la dichiarazione, secondo la suddetta procedura, e in un secondo tempo magari a seguito di un accertamento (che potrebbe partire anche da una verifica presso il proprio cliente americano) risulti che si disponeva invece di una stabile organizzazione, e che quindi l'esenzione del trattato non era applicabile, si viene tassati sull'importo lordo del corrispettivo ricevuto senza alcun diritto a deduzioni per spese e costi e con conseguente notevole aggravio di imposta.

Tali situazioni stanno diventando sempre più frequenti da quanto il fisco americano ha iniziato a verificare sistematicamente che le imprese americane che ricevono beni o servizi da soggetti esteri abbiano richiesto ed ottenuto l'apposito certificato (form W8-ECI) con cui l'impresa estera dichiara che provvederà per suo conto al pagamento di eventuali imposte dovute negli USA, in mancanza del quale esse sarebbero tenute a effettuare una ritenuta alla fonte del 30% sul corrispettivo dovuto.

L'impresa americana acquisito il certificato lo deposita presso l'ufficio imposte americano insieme alla sua dichiarazione dei redditi annuale, e di conseguenza il fisco americano è in grado di conoscere e monitorare le varie situazioni ed effettuare gli eventuali controlli. In caso di corretta gestione della situazione, eventuali imposte dovute e pagate negli USA sono accreditabili in Italia ad eliminazione della doppia imposizione.

Il nostro consiglio è di verificare se in relazione ai propri contratti in essere con clienti americani possano profilarsi situazioni del tipo di quelle descritte sopra e sia necessario o opportuno intervenire per assicurarsi la corretta gestione dei profili fiscali USA e di riflesso italiani ed evitare rischi o inutili aggravi di imposta.

MQR&A Presents at Unindustria Bologna on June 8

Marco Rossi — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 20:46:03 -0500

On June 8, 2011 at Unindustria Bologna MQR&A will present on on the topic: "Legal, corporate and tax considerations for opening a business in the United States". The presentation will be divided in two sections. The first section will cover the best practices and a check list for the legal, corporate and tax aspects relating to the establishment of business operations in the US. The second section will discuss the framework for Italian enterprises entering the U.S. market from a business, strategic and planning standpoint. We attach an invitation to the presentation, together with the slides that will be discussed at the event for the part I and part II of the presentation.

European Commission Blesses Italy's Anti-Inversion Rules

Marco Rossi — Mon, 30 May 2011 17:58:23 -0500

Italy's Tax Code determines the tax residency of a company on the basis of one of three alternative tests: place of legal seat, place of management and principal place of business. As a result, an Italian or foreign company that is effectively managed from Italy is treated as an Italian company for Italian tax purposes and it is subject to tax in Italy on its worldwide income.

In order to prevent abusive practices consisting in putting an Italian company owned or controlled by Italian shareholders under the umbrella of a foreign holding company established in a tax favorable jurisdiction, Italy enacted special anti abuse provisions according to which a foreign company owning or controlling an Italian company is presumed to have its tax residency in Italy if one of two alternative tests are met: Italian shareholders control the foreign company, or the majority of the company's board members are Italian nationals. Taxpayers can rebut the presumption by providing clear and convincing evidence that the foreign company is effectively managed outside of Italy.

The Italian association of certified public accountants filed a petition with the European Commission arguing that Italian anti inversion rules violate the basic principles of EU law on freedom of establishment and free movement of capital. While acknowledging that Italian provisions intend to prevent tax abusive practices, the Italian association argued that Italian law violates the proportionality principle in enforcing far reaching provisions that extend also to bona fide cases.

The European Commission refused to take any action, taking the position that Italian law is designed to combat tax evasion and is narrowly drafted to target only clear abuses while it permits bona fide taxpayers to present their case and rebut the tax residency presumption.

MQR&A's New Web Site is On-line

Marco Rossi — Mon, 30 May 2011 17:22:37 -0500

We would like to inform all our clients, contacts and friends that our new web site is now on line. The new web site encompasses all previous information about our services and areas on practice in a more professional, nice looking and user friendly format. The "News" section on the web site will work in tandem with our blog. We hope you will find our web site informative and useful and look forward to receiving your valuable comments and feedback.