Roberto Quadrio Dottore Commercialista

DIGITAL NOMAD VISA AND REDIDENCE PERMIT IN ITALY

The Italian Government has recently introduced a new permit of stay called “NOMADI DIGITALI” “digital nomads” (decree February 29th 2024, Italian Gazzetta Ufficiale February 29th 2024).
The peculiarity of this type of permit of stay is that it can be requested already in your own country of ori-gin.

Who can aim it?

It can be requested by citizens of any NON EU country if they have the below features:
being a high qualified worker that can exercise their activity through remote working.

How to obtain this permit of stay?

The person aiming at receiving this residence permit has to request a Visa at the Italian consulate or em-bassy in their own country and once they arrive to Italy, has to request within 8 days the permit of stay at the local Italian police office (Questura office).
In order to request it you should:
exercise a highly specialized work that can be done through remote working
dispose of an income of at least euro 28.000,00 annual (this limit of income will slowly increase year after year)
dispose of a health insurance
dispose of an accommodation in Italy
prove a remote working experience of at least 6 months
show a working contract or a collaboration (or a binding offer) for the exercise of a remote working

Features of this permit of stay

The permit of stay has a duration of maximum one year but it is renewable.
This type of permit of stay allows the family reunification.
The ways of renewing this permit are still not indicated by the government as well as the possibility of converting it into another type of permit of stay.

Taxation and contributes

The decree does not change or introduce exceptions to already existing laws.
We shall presume that the “nomade digitale” (digital nomad) will pay taxes in Italy, even though working remotely with a foreign firm.
The decree instead, contains the obligation for all the freelancers who wants this kind of permesso of opening up a self employer position (partita iva) in Italy.
In the same way we shall consider mandatory paying the Italian pension scheme.
It will be possible to have double payments for the Italian pension scheme and the one of your country of origin.

Guidance

If you are interested in this permit of stay for “digital nomads”, please contact us at this e-mail address: [email protected]
We will send you the contact of an immigration consultant that will guide you through this process.

TAXATION OF A “LIMITED COMPANY” IN ITALY

INCOME TAXES
Limited Companies, first of all, must prepare and approve their balance sheet.
The approved balance sheet must be deposited at the Chamber of Commerce, the expiring date to approve the balance sheet is April 30th of the following year. This expiring date can be post-poned on June 30th if there is the necessity.

Then, the balance sheet must be sent to the Chamber of Commerce within 30 days from the approval by the shareholders’ assembly.

The balance sheet is used for the preparation of the “income declaration” (dichiarazione dei redditi) in order to calculate taxes.

The taxes that are due for every year, must be payed within June 30th of following year.
Moreover, are due advanced payements for taxes of the current year. The date is always June 30th and then November 30th.

Taxes that are due on June 30th can be payed with installments.

In practice, if a company is built in 2024, will pay taxes in June 2025. Furthermore, it will pay taxes with an advanced payment for 2025 in June and in November 2025.

The taxes are due on taxable income, that is given by the yearly profit, increased by those costs that are not fully deductible (for instance: non demonstrable expenses, a percentage of the expenses for the telephone, company cars...).

The taxes that are due on income are two: IRES and IRPEF.

IRES, is equal to 24% on the taxable income.

IRAP, is normally equal to 4,25% of a value not completely coincident with taxable income (calculating IRAP in advance is difficult; the cost of the labor and the interests are not to be considered deductible, but there is a series of deductions that can compensate this).

Iva (VAT)
The VAT, is payed 5 times a year with fixed deadlines; it is due the difference between the vat collected from costumers and the one payed to suppliers.

The general VAT is usually 22% but other sectors have lower percentages, for example hotels, having the 10%.

FIXED TAXES
Every limited company, has to pay every year some fixed taxes, the costs of filing the balance sheet and the registration to the Chamber of Commerce (Camera di Commercio); in total it is about 800,00 Euro per year.

MONTHLY PAYMENTS
Every 16th of every month the company, if it has employees, will have to pay withholdings and the pension scheme of the employees.
Withholding taxes for professionals, are also payed on the 16th of every month.

Things to do if you leave Italy

If you go and reside in another country, as a general rule, you should close your VAT number (partiva IVA) in Italy and open a position in the other country; but often, if you are thinking of coming back to Italy, it might be better to keep it open and inactive.

To close your VAT number, simply let us know and we will close it immediately.

From a tax point of view, it makes no difference whether to close it now or at the end of the year.

Keeping it open has no particular costs. Professionals pay taxes and INPS only on the income they actually receive.

Let's say that if you intend to stay outside Italy for more than two years it is better to close it immediately, if you plan to return earlier, it is better to keep it open.

If you stay away for more than two years and close your VAT number, when you return you can take advantage of the tax discounts known as "impatriati", which is a strong benefit for those who have been away from Italy for more than two years.

(The calculation of the two years is quite complicated. If you leave on January 1st you can come back at the end of July the following year; if you leave from August onwards, you can come back at the end of July two years later)

If you come back before two years and keep your VAT number you can continue to have the 5% tax reduction as a flat rate (forfettario) taxpayer until the end of the fifth year from the opening of your VAT number.

However, you will have to pay taxes both next June for last year's income and in June of the next year for this year's income.

MEMO LETTER ON IMPOSTA DI BOLLO 2024

We kindly remind you that from 2024 the electronic invoices will be mandatory for all taxpayers, included those forfetari. Therefore it will not be necessary to buy the actual marche da bollo, because the stamp duty will be payed with fixed deadlines.

EXCEPTION: it remains mandatory to issue paper invoices and the obligation to buy the actual marche da bollo for the health care field (psychologists and doctors) issued towards private patients.

The fixed deadlines will be as follows: November 30th 2024 for invoices issued from January 1st till September 30th, February 28th 2025 for the invoices issued in the period October – December.

In these occasions, you will have to count the invoices issued in that period and pay 2,00 Euro for the marca da bollo for each invoice. Our Studio will send you anyway a reminder for any deadline.

We also remind you that marca da bollo is due for invoices in which IVA is not exposed, among which medical invoices and those for forfetari, above 77,47 Euro.
The payment will be issued with Modello 24 as any other tax.

LAVORATORI IMPATRIATI

The regime for repatriated workers is a temporary preferential tax regime recognized for workers who transfer their residence from abroad to Italy. The regime can be used by both Italian citizens and citizens of other countries.

The benefit consists in the possibility to pay taxes only on 30% of the tax income produced in Italy.

If you are self-employed with a Partita IVA and are using the regime forfettario; you must consider that this is an alternative to the inpatriate relief and it is usually better.

The regime is possible in cases where:
• the worker was not resident in Italy in the two tax periods preceding the last transfer
to Italy and he/she will stay in Italy for at least two years.
• the work activity is carried out mainly in Italy.

To get the benefit you must:
• if you are an employee, submit a written request to the employer
• if you have a Partita IVA you can put it directly in the tax declaration

In case that you were entitled to the benefit, but, for any reason, you did not benefit from it, there are ways to request a refund for the taxes paid in excess in previous years.

The benefit lasts 5 years but can last longer for:

• workers with at least one minor or dependent child.
• to workers who become owners of at least one residential estate in Italy after the transfer or in the previous 12 months.

If you are interested in this topic, please contact our studio to discuss your case

FIRST HOME PURCHASE RELIEF FOR PEOPLE UNDER 36

The government has extended until December 31, 2023, the first-home purchase allowances for young people under 36 years of age.
The facilities consist of:
- Facilities for access to credit. This is a guarantee fund on mortgages granted by banks; resulting in easier to obtain a bank loan.
- Tax benefits. Exemption from payment of many of the taxes due at the time of home purchase in front of the notary (registration, mortgage and cadastral taxes and tax credit for any iva on newly built houses)
The benefits apply to young people under 36 who have an Isee of less than 40,000.00 euros, who do not buy a luxury home and who do not already own a property (not even part of a property) in Italy.
We advise our interested clients to proceed in this way.
- Contact your own or other banks to see if you can receive a loan and on what terms
- Go to a patronato to get an isee (if you don't have a convenient one, we can direct you to one)
- Searching for an house to buy
- Meet with a notary to discuss the purchase of the house with him (again, if you have problems, we can direct you to ours).

Permesso di soggiorno and de facto couples

There is a law in Italy (law 76/2016 of 20 May 2016) which equates de facto couples to married couples in many aspects. One of these aspects is the regulation of immigration.
Before starting, it is important to understand that we are not talking about couples of individuals of the same gender linked by a civil union (which is regulated separately), but about any couple who have not celebrated any type of union and who are not currently married with a third person.
The law allows you to obtain a residence permit under certain conditions if your partner already has a permesso di soggiorno.
In the event that both members of the couple currently have a permesso di soggiorno, the de facto couple can be registered in the municipal registry office. This recording proves the existence of the couple.
In the event that a member of the couple doesn't have a permesso di soggiorno, numerous sentences say that the existence of the couple can be proven by a cohabitation contract and then register this in the registry office. If the municipality refuses, you can ask the court to order the municipality to register.
It is not possible to ensure the success of this whole process, but various sentences in various Italian cities give more than one hope of success.
Once registration has been obtained, cohabitation is equivalent to a marriage also in the field of immigration and it is possible to apply for a permesso di soggiorno for family reasons
If the Questura does not want to issue the permesso di soggiorno, it will be necessary to appeal to the court again to obtain the permit.
If you are interested, please contact us and we will refer you to an expert lawyer on the matter.

DIGITAL INVOICES FOR CONTRIBUENTI FORFETTARI
Starting in 2022, digital invoices has become obligatory for contribuenti forfettari.
Making digital invoices is not difficult. Our studio will prepare a back office job for you and then we will teach you how to do invoices.
Digital invoices are compiled online on particular sites that offer compilation masks. Invoices are sent to the Agenzia dell'Entrate which then will send the invoices to your customers.
Anyway, you can keep a PDF copy for yourself and for customers.
In the absence of precise information, we believe that healthcare invoices to individuals will necessarily remain non-electronic.

A recent government decreet permits to people (with partita iva forfettaria) to make invoices in traditional ways (ad example with excel or word) if they have a revenue in 2021 lower than 25.000,00= euro.
The same permission is given to everybody opened partita iva in 2022.
These people is not obliged to prepare digital invoices for 2022.
The same facilitation will be valid for 2023 for people with gross revenue lower of 25.000,00 euro in 2022.

In the next days you will receive two e mails.
- The first e mail will arrive from “fattureweb”. The email will contain your username and a temporary password. You will also find in the same email a link for a website; Using that link you can change your password.
- The second email will arrive from [email protected] . You have to create a password, following the link, and then you have to send it to us for completing the process.
Send us an email when you have completed the operation and our studio will contact you after a few days to teach you how to make the first invoice.
We also remind you that digital invoices are not obligatory yet, but they will become obligatory i the next months.

Long-term Permesso di soggiorno

The long-term permesso di soggiorno is indefinite.
It doesn’t expire and it doesn’t have to be renewed, but only updated.
It’s valid as a personal identification document for 5 years.
It doesn’t report the expiration data but the wording "unlimited".

Who can request it?

It can be requested by foreign citizens in possession of the following requirements:

• who have been regularly staying in Italy for at least 5 years;
• who has a valid permesso di soggiorno;
• who can demonstrate an income not lower than the annual amount of the social allowance referring to any type of contract (the same income used to renew permesso di soggiorno; not a larger one). The Questura di Milano requires three years of income in Italy;
• who have passed an Italian language test or have completed a degree in Italy with a course in Italian

Who CANNOT request it?

It cannot be requested:

• by who has a permesso di soggiorno for motivi di studio or formazione professionale;
• by who has a permesso di soggiorno for humanitarian reasons or for temporary protection;
• by applicants for international protection;
• by who has visas or short-term permesso di soggiorno;
• by foreign citizens dangerous to public order or the security of the state.

The documentation

The documents for the compilation (in addition to the Kit module 1 and module 2):

• photocopy of the passport;
• photocopy of a valid permesso di soggiorno;
• certificate of residence;
• tax return relating to the previous year (CUD / Unico) which shows an income of not less than the annual amount of the social allowance. In an income from the previous year it will be necessary to provide sufficient economic news (paycheck, bollettino INPS, existing employment contract);
• certificate of A2 level Italian language test

Presentation of the application

The request for an long-term permesso di soggiorno is presented by postal kit. You will need:

• the payment of 16.00 euros for marca da bollo;
• the payment of 30 euros to be paid at the counter for the cost of sending the envelope by registered mail;
• 130.46 euros to be affixed to the postal bollettino.

The long-term permesso allows you to:

• enter Italy without a visa;
• carry out any work, autonomous or subordinate activity in Italy;
• access the services and benefits of the Public Administration, in health, education, social and social security matters;
• have the INPS check for disabled civilians and the social allowance;
• participate in local public life, including voting;
• no longer be expelled from Italy, except for serious national security reasons.

Conversion permesso di soggiorno per motivi di studio

If you have a permesso di soggiorno per motivi di studio you're not allowed to start a freelancer activity and to open a Partita IVA.

In order to work as freelancer it's necessary , before opening partita iva, to convert the permesso di studio into a permesso di soggiorno per lavoro autonomo.

If you have not finished your studies, you can do the application for the permits conversion but you must wait for the publication of the decreto flussi (a government decreet focuesed on this) . Usually, the decreto flussi is approved every year.

This procedure is quite complicated so we suggest you to consult an immigration consultant.

On the contrary If you have completed university studies in Italy, you can apply for conversion at any time of the year.

200 EURO BONUS FOR SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS
Starting from 20 September it will be possible to apply for the bonus of 200 euros for self-employed workers with partita iva.
The bonus must be requested from the INPS or the professional pension fund to which the self-employer belongs (Inarcassa, Enpap,… ..).
For workers enrolled in INPS, it will be necessary to have the SPID, their Iban, their carta d’identità and their codice fiscale with them at the moment of the application.
The application will be made on the INPS website by searching in the search bar "bonus 200 euro lavoratori autonomi".
Those enrolled in the professional funds will have to follow the instructions that the individual funds will release (probably very similar to the INPS instructions).
The last day to apply is the 30th of November 2022.
Requirements to apply:
- have an open Partita iva and really use it to work
- have not already received the contribution as employees or retirees
- who in 2021 had a total income lower than 35.000 euro
- who registered with INPS before 19th of May 2022
Another requirement is that you have already made a payment to INPS or professional funds. This requirement is in contrast with the possibility of requesting the contribution for those who opened the Partita iva in 2022. We suggest, to these customers, to prepare the application as well.

DIGITAL INVOICES FOR CONTRIBUENTI FORFETTARI
Starting in 2022, the exact date is not available yet, digital invoices will become obligatory for contribuenti forfettari.
Making digital invoices is not difficult.
Digital invoices are compiled online on particular sites that offer compilation masks. Invoices are sent to the Agenzia dell'Entrate which then will send the invoices to your customers.
Anyway, you can keep a PDF copy for yourself and for customers.
In the absence of precise information, we believe that healthcare invoices to individuals will necessarily remain non-electronic.

ITALIAN LANGUAGE EXAM
Italian language exam and long term permesso di soggiorno
The foreign citizen who has been legally living in Italy for more than 5 years and intends to apply for the EC for long-term permesso di soggiorno must take an italian exam.
What do you need?
The application must be made online. Be sure to have with you your Passport (or italian Carta Identità) and your Permesso di Soggiorno.
You also need your SPID
Who can Avoid it?
The exam is not necessary in some cases
• If you are under 14 years
• If you have severe language learning deficits, certified by a public health facility;
• If you already are in possession of a certification of the knowledge of Italian at a level not lower than A2;
• If you are in Italy to carry out a highly qualified job (you entered in Italy with the Blue Card);
• If you already have a long terme permesso and you are submitting an application for an update
How to submit the application?
The application for the test must be submitted via the internet to the Sportello Unico for Immigration at the competent Prefecture, based on the domicile, by connecting to the Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione section of Ministero dell’Interno website.
The application is possible exclusively using your SPID for entering the site and filling out the application form. If you have not the SPID you can ask a CAF or an immigration consultant to make for the procedure.
You must have an e-mail adress to receive any communications.
The call date is normally set within 60 days from the submission of the application, by your e-mail. The exam will be in a school near your house.
What happens next?
The result of the test is communicated to the officies of the Prefecture, which send the result to the Questura and insert it in your documentation.
If you don’t pass the test you will have to resubmit the application at the Prefecture to take the exam again. You can do it within 90 days from the date you took the test.
You can do the request of Permesso di soggiorno two month after the exam.
STUDIO ROBERTO QUADRIO
Viale Abruzzi 30 – 20131 Milano
Tel 028322721
[email protected]

STUDIO ROBERTO QUADRIO
Viale Abruzzi 30 – 20131 Milano
Tel 028322721
[email protected]

E COMMERCE IN ITALY
FISCAL QUICK GUIDE
)[E COMMERCE is a trading activity which is run using internet (or other electronic channels) where the client chooses the product online without the support of a human seller.]
Ecommerce refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions.
On the contrary, a trading system where the buyer chooses the product online and then orders it on telephone or by mail is a simple mail order not real E-commerce. Mail commerce and e- commerce have a few common rules but many are related just to ecommerce.
E-commerce has specific rules, both regarding taxes and customer care.
E-commerce is usually divided into two branches: Direct E-commerce, where the product is delivered directly by internet; software for example Undirect E- commerce. Where the product is physical delivered to the final consumer.
Here we will focus only on the undirect e-commerce
First, an important warning.
It is allowed to sell things on the internet without following the rules we will list hereafter, if the activity is small and amateur (some sites as e-bay limit this possibility to 5 or 10 sold items per year). This paper is dedicated to a business activity.
On other hand the rules for professional activity are quite complicated and the commitment for the one who decides to dedicate him/herself to e-commerce is heavier than in other business activities. All this to say that a very small activity is not worth the efforts of running such a business.
There is an unavoidable gray zone, between amateur e-commerce and a flourishing activity, in which the effort is not worthwhile.
We can consider the gray zone as a period the business must pass through.
1. Starting Operations
- A partita iva with a particular ateco code must be open (47.91.10)
- Then an application at the Comune is due (patica Suap/Scia)
- Finally a position at the chamber of commerce is compulsory.

All these applications may be done on the internet and the whole cost is about 250 euro.

If someone already has a partita iva, he/she may add the other ateco code and he/she can also continue with the other activity.

This operation may take 5/10 days

2. Inps
Every person who is enrolled in the chamber of commerce is listed in a particular pension plan of inps: Gestione Commercianti.
Gestione Commercianti does not require higher payments than other pension plans, but it asks for a minumum payment of nearly 4000,00 per year. This payment is due in 4 installments every three months (may 16, august 20, November 16, February 16)
This minimum payment is also due even if the business makes a loss and it should be considered as a sort of fixed cost in your business plan.

3. Iva (Value added tax, VAT)
Iva is an indirect tax that must be charged to our clients and then paid to the state. It is important to know when Iva must be charged to the clients and when it must not.

- Iva must be added to the costs of our goods every time the goods are sold to an Italian client. In Italy VAT IS usually the 22% of the price, but some items (food, books) may have a lower Iva.
- Sales to clients outside the European Union are without Iva (Art. 8 DPR 633/1972). It is important to collect a proof of the export (ad ex. The DAE – Documento Accompagnamento Esportazione)
- For clients in European Union it is more complicated:
For BTB sales an invoice without VAT must be issued and send to the client
For BTC sales, till the amount of 10.000 euro of BTC sales you can leally pretend that all the sales are made in Italy and pay Italian vat. Over 10.000 euro an inscription to a particular government site (OSS) will be compulsory. VAT will be paid in Italy but with different rules and percentages referred to the different European countries. Italian Agenzia Entrate will turn to other countries their part of VAT

Iva (VAT) is calculated and paid quarterly (may 16, aug 20, nov 16, march 16). The amount you have to pay is given by the difference of the Iva you cashed from your client, less the Iva you paid to your suppliers (also Iva paid to the italian custom for imported goods).

4. Taxes
Income taxes (in Italy IRES and IRAP) are paid on your net income (difference between revenue and costs) when your tax return (dichiarazione dei redditi) is ready, in June and then in November.
There is not a fixed percentage of taxes. The more your income is, the higher the tax percentage is .

5. Accountancy
E commerce sales are not submitted to an obligatory invoice. Invoice must be produced (fattura elettronica, digital invoice) if requested by the client (always for BTB)
Daily sales must be registered on a particular register, divided per countries.
Documents must be delivered to the accountant quarterly for the calculation of the due VAT and for other accountancy and fiscal procedures.
Accountancy is a bit complicated. Usually the cost of accountancy in E commerce is higher than in other kinds of activities.

6. Goods delivery
Goods must be shipped to the client togheter with a “documento di trasporto” (bill of lading) or with an invoice. A copy of it must be retained.

7. Contribuenti forfettari
E-commerce activity may be run also by a contribuente forfettario. In this case part of the accountancy is simplified and a cut, both in taxes and in Inps, is afforded. But considering other aspects (impossibility to deduct costs and vat, a virtual fixed fiscal mark up of 40%) may be not profitable.
We must also consider that because of the rules of the OSS (see point number 3) also a Contrbuente forfettario will pay the vat in other europen countries.
Furthermore we must also consider that Sistema Forfetario is admitted only till 65.000 euro of gross income.
There also other situations that prevent the choice of Sistema Forfettario (if you are partner in particular kind of companies, if you have employee income over 30.000 euro per year).

8. Pricing and business plan.
As you can imagine pricing is the most delicate moment. You must consider the cost of the goods, the transport, the custom and your fixed costs.
Preparing a business plan before starting is necessary. Consult an expert or a commercialista to prepare a business plan.

9. Rules about the site.
There are a lot of rules about the privacy, the customer care, the possibility to return the goods and so on.
For example there is a long list of compulsory information that must be shown in your site and on the ordering form you will give to your clients for ordering the goods.
If your business will increase, sooner or later you will have to consult a specialist lawyer about these matters.

10. Market platforms
You can use platforms like Amazon or Etsy for your E-commerce. In this case your business will be usually easier to be managed.
These platforms manage all your relations with the clients (invoices, bills, cashing money, customer cares, ….) and sometimes also the storage.
In any case most of the procedures you must attend to remains in your hands.

11. Particular kind of goods
Food: there are not particular rules about selling food or beverage BTB. On the other hand, there are main rules about a BTC food trade. These rules concern the safety and the health of the food and the professionalism of the manager.
Other particular rules exist for used goods (as furniture or art) and for tourist service (travels or tickets).
Moreover there other laws concerning the sales of gold, silver and gems.

12. Items we did not talk about
This is only a quick guide, we did not even touch a lot of items and we talked very little about every item.. For sure, you will have to learn how to use different government platforms (for digital invoices, for VAT, for INPS). Then you will learn the day by day administration of your business and you will have to get the ability to calculate if a particular sale is profitable or not.
This paper is referred to an individual activity, but e.commerce can be run also by a company.
We did not talk about the cashing systems and about the regulation for on line auctions.
We advice to talk with a consultant even before to decide to start the business.

ISCRO – INCOME HELP FOR SELF EMPLOYERS – APPLICATION WITHIN OCTOBER THE 31ST

October the 31st is the deadline for the application.
- Iscro is a money help from inps for all the professionals who faced a decrease in their revenues in 2020. The help is the payment of six monthly installments from a minimum of 250 euro to a maximum of 800 (the amount is given by the real decrease)

- Iscro may be asked by professional who usually pay the “gestione separata lavortari autonomi” inps and who faced in 2020 a decrease of at least th 50% comparing to the average of the incomes of 2019, 2018, 2017.

- You cannot apply for iscro if:
1) You are on late with the patyment of inps
2) You have not opened partita iva from at least for years (in 2017 or before)
3) You already receive a pension or reddito di cittadinanza
4) Your income in 2020 was greater than euro 8.145,00 (net income)

- Application is made on the inps site using the Spid

- The iscro wil exist also in the next years but only an application is permitted.
- If you are interested, please contact us for a first screening of your situation