The reply of the Tax office confirmed our Firm’s position and reinforces the necessity to pay attention to the (delicate) moment when an individual plans to move to Italy.
In fact, it is (always) necessary to assess the case with the assistance of foreign advisors and or bankers in order to advise whether it would be better to schedule a wealth re-organization before or after the application of the attractive Italian regime. It is not possible to take a general approach and we have to consider in detail all items of the wealth architecture of the client in order to let him or her fully enjoy the benefits of the Italian regime.
The response of the Italian Tax Office makes it very clear that the timing and effectiveness of this option is to be considered carefully.
Answer n. 178 provides us with a twofold analysis:
On the wealth planning side, and in relation to the global mobility of Ultra HNWIs, it is necessary to consider the exact and formal procedures. In the query it seems that this has been missed out, with the result for the taxpayer being significant taxation made by the financial intermediary because it relates to a time where the formal triggers of the Italian Flat Tax were not yet effective.
On the compliance side for the insurance, it highlights how a foreign company must apply the Italian taxes, in particular relation to the regime of art 24-bis (the 100k regime) and art. 23-ter (the “pensioner” regime), including the specific case where the insurance is redeemed.
Our Firm’s professionals working in Italy, UK and Switzerland on global mobility and immigration are well placed to assist on the application of the legal, tax and wealth aspects for non-resident individuals wishing to move to Italy.
