Risultati ricerca

ESTATE DISPUTES: Some important judgments from last month

EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Companies to be prevented from moving tax residency

Currency repatriation requirements were extended on 14 April to cover loans issued by Russian residents to foreign borrowers, reducing the opportunities for businesses to shift funds abroad through non-repayable loans.

INTERNATIONAL - FRANCE: Wealth property tax has significant effects for non-residents

The Japanese government's 2018 tax reform bill abolishes the recently introduced rule under which the heirs of a long-term resident foreigner who died outside Japan remain liable to Japanese inheritance tax (IHT) on estate assets anywhere in the world. The rule had threatened to derail the government's efforts to attract foreign talent to live and work in Japan, because it meant IHT liability could follow a foreign national for up to five years after leaving the country.

IMPOSTA DI SUCCESSIONE E DONAZIONE - SPAIN: Andalusia increases inheritance tax exemption

TRUST - NETHERLANDS: Tougher regulation of trust offices

EUROPE: Commission publishes argument against UK's CFC exemption

WEALTH MANAGEMENT - FRANCE: Foreign resident's children cannot invoke forced heirship law

INTERNATIONAL - GERMANY: Restriction of loss relief declared unconstitutional

INTERNATIONAL - UK: Doubts cast on non-dom reforms' commencement date

INTERNATIONAL - European Union: Taxation at source must take into account non-resident taxpayer's domestic costs

SOCIETA' - Corporate Governance

When a property conveyance takes place, the Italian tax laws stipulate the payment of certain taxes and charges which generally must be paid, at the time the notarial contract is stipulated, to the notary himself who thus undertakes the “irksome” task of tax collector. Such taxes are mostly payable by the purchaser. At the time of purchase, the system taxes the “wealth” indirectly manifested by the purchaser which consists of the price paid for the purchase of the property (so-called i

A sale or purchase proposal is a document the parties may sign before the conveyance proper. It consists, alternatively, of a manifestation of the owner's willingness to sell to a probable purchaser or a manifestation of a possible purchaser's willingness to buy from the owner: in both cases by acceptance of the proposal, believe it or not, the contract of sale is concluded and becomes binding for both parties. Furthermore, the purchase or sale proposal is usually irrevocable: the signato

It often happens that, after a prospective property has been inspected and chosen, substantial agreement is reached with the other party even if this is not yet formalized in written form. It is advisable to contact a notary at this early stage before signing the preliminary contract (the so-called “compromesso”). In the preliminary contract, both signatories undertake to stipulate the definitive sale contract by a certain date and on given conditions. The preliminary agreement (even i

Notaries and real estates

Notaries and real estates

For many years now, in Italy and throughout the world,  the associative phenomenon has encountered ever greater consideration, in addition to a growing enthusiasm. The explanation of this progressive attention may be found in the ever more widespread awareness that the ideas, dreams and projects that each individual nourishes in the course of his/her existence may be concretely expressed, not only through acting in isolation, also by following a path which leads a number of persons to join f

Notaries provide the community with a complex service, they carry out a public function of the State within the framework of an independent profession. The notarial deed not only regulates transactions between parties, but it provides added value in at least three respects: - a contract signed before a notary is unchallengable and hence it avoids expensive and time-consuming litigation procedures; - it is enforceable and hence it can be used to recover credits and it constitutes pri

Since 12 September 2002, the Consiglio Nazionale del Notariato has been registered in the public list of certifiers of digital signatures held by AIPA, as the certification authority for Italian notaries. The digital signatures of Italian notaries may be verified on the site http://ca.notariato.it. Based on the rules and the certification authority's operations manual, CNN certifies notaries' digital signatures in the exercise of their functions and so guarantees to third parties not only

The vendor has the right to receive the full amount of the agreed price from the purchaser at the time the sale contract is settled. Frequently the vendor has already received an advance payment on that price, generally as a deposit: in that case he will have the right to receive the difference to make up the full agreed price. The vendor has the option to allow the purchaser a deferral of payment, with or without interest. It is up to the discretion of the vendor (based on the trust h

Having broached subjects from the vendor's point of view as well, it is useful to recall that the burdensome INVIM (a tax originally levied on the vendor consequent upon his sale of a property) has been definitively abolished, to the great relief of the notary as well, given not only the complexity of calculating it but also (as always) the irksome role of tax collector that the law imposed on him. Nevertheless, it is helpful to emphasize that the vendor may still have to pay certain sums

Following marriage, unless an explicit declaration to the contrary is made at the time of the ceremony, spouses find themselves in a shared property arrangement, this being the automatic legal regime in force in our system since 20/9/1975. This means that any purchase made by a spouse during the marriage is subject to legal community (or, simply put, is common property) with the other. The law excludes (to take a few of the more important cases) only assets acquired by donation or inherit

The rules governing this matter are extremely complex and may be schematically simplified by looking at a subjective profile and an objective profile. As regards the former, there are two main types of tax linked to real estate conveyances: stamp duty (imposta di registro) (and the related mortgage and cadastral taxes) and VAT. Whether one tax or the other is applied depends mainly but not exclusively on the nature of the vendor. Stamp duty is applicable in all cases where the vendo

One of the essential elements in the negotiation of a home loan is the delay allowed for  repayment of the capital, i.e. the duration. In general terms, one may say that the longer the duration of a home loan the lower the amount of each repayment instalment, which gives the borrower more breathing space; all this, however, means paying overall a larger amount in  interest, precisely because the capital is repaid more slowly. The practice also is that a longer duration

Italian law attempts to facilitate and encourage people to buy their own primary home (their so-called “primary residence” ["prima casa"]) through various reductions in taxes for the purchaser. Specifically, at the time of purchase, the purchaser pays 3% (stamp duty) if he buys from a private person or 4% (VAT) if he buys from a company (except for a few odd cases), plus a fixed charge for registering the transfer and mortgage (presently a total of Euro 336.00).A foreigner, too, may take advanta

In "land credit" contracts, the borrower has the legally-assured option of early repayment of the home loan; but generally, even in ordinary contracts, that possibility is foreseen. The borrower may decide, therefore, at a certain point in the repayment plan, to close out the contract and repay the remaining capital, on which obviously he will no longer pay interest. Given this loss of earnings, the bank could, if the contract so stipulates, demand compensation (a penalty). According to a

A company has a life of its own which is independent from that of its partners: it will go on living even after its partners die or it can be dissolved and wound up even if its partners are alive.All companies have a legal status and as such they have assets that are distinct from those of the partners that constitute the company. They have a name, a registered office and, hence are legal entities that are quite distinct from the individuals making up the company.They are non-personified col

Home loans are generally guaranteed by a mortgage and so are the preserve, in our legal system, of the notary. The presence of the notarial profession has become more significant with the recent increase in the number of such contracts, a result of the lower cost of money (though this is still subject to fluctuations) and improvements in living standards that allow an ever greater number of citizens to aspire to the ownership of their home and often of a second home as well. Year after ye

A person may not always be able to express his intentions directly: for example, because he is abroad or far from the place in which he is supposed to sign a particular deed or contract.In such cases, it is possible to use a power of attorney, i.e. a document giving another person the power to undertake a material or legal act in one's stead.For example, if a husband is abroad and a purchase contract for a house must be signed urgently, the husband – before he leaves or from abroad – may give hi

Fluctuations in the cost of money may, in some cases, make it advisable to “make running changes” to the terms of a mortgage: such changes, in economics, are known as renegotiation. There are various legal methods for achieving this: a) discharge of the old home loan and granting of new financing with a new mortgage (“replacement” home loan); b) merely changing the terms of the old home loan (renegotiation in the strictest sense); c) from 2 February 2007, subrog

As may be observed above, the role of the notary is important in guaranteeing the statements the vendor usually makes at the time the sale takes place. In particular, the vendor is obliged to make known how the asset he is about to sell came into his hands. It may be that he purchased it for a consideration in the normal way, or that he has occupied it for a sufficient number of years to avert any danger of eviction. It may be, however, that the property was donated to the vendor or

Foreign documents are those issued abroad by a foreign authority, even if they are in the Italian language, which in order to be used in Italy require legalization or an apostille.In this sense, a document prepared by an Italian consulate or ambassador abroad is not “foreign”, even if the parties are foreign. If it is written in a foreign language, the foreign document must also be accompanied by its “translation”.More precisely, the obligation to legalize a foreign document is currently stipula

First of all, the purchaser has the right to have the vendor consign the property at the time of the notarised conveyance, upon payment of the purchase price, in its known state, with any agreed accessories, free of persons and things. It is legitimate for the purchaser to request consignment of the asset before the definitive transfer: however it is not his right to insist upon it, it being left to the d

If a married person wishes to sell a property, it is necessary to check whether or not the consent of the other spouse is needed; If a minor or a person not of sound mind is the owner of an asset, a judge's authorization is needed for the sale as well as the intervention of that person's tutor or parent or legal representative; the same thing applies for a purchase by such persons; If an inherited asset is the common property of several heirs, before selling his share an heir must firs

In the first place, the vendor is obliged to consign to the purchaser the property sold in the state in which it is with vacant possession, free of persons and things, at the time the contract of sale is notarised, i.e. at the same time as the balance of the price is paid. The vendor has the option, however, of allowing the future purchaser to occupy the property even before the actual change of ownership, it being understood that because he is still the owner of the asset he remains resp

A joint-stock company must be set up through a public deed which must clearly indicate who the parties to the contract are. Such parties may be individuals but also legal entities (as for instance other joint-stock companies, partnerships, cooperatives or other bodies).The Memorandum of Association must indicate the Municipality in which the company has its registered office, which is where it operates, and the name of the company which must contain the wording “"società per azioni" or "s.p.

Any change, even only a purely formal change, in the clauses of the by-laws of a company is considered to be an amendment to the by-laws.  As a rule this competence belongs to the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting and the relevant decision must be written in the minutes by a notary public and then registered with the Register of Companies.The decision must be taken by a majority vote, any clause in the bylaws setting forth that unanimity is required to change the Memorandum of Association

The limited liability company is intended for smaller companies than joint-stock companies, and the equity participation in the company has a personal connotation which is absent in the s.p.a.  In fact, it has a limited number of shareholders who are not personally responsible for the social security liabilities, even if they have acted in the name and on behalf of the company.The legislation in place as of 1 January 2004 has had a major impact on the limited liability company, which is an e

The board of statutory auditors is the audit body of the joint-stock companies that adopt the traditional system:  it has the task of monitoring the company’s compliance with the law and the Memorandum of Association and has a supervisory function with regard to the actions of management. The Board of Auditors only exceptionally exercise accountancy control  and they do so only in closed companies, that is, companies which do not have recourse to the venture capital market, and only if envis

With the provisions that entered into force as of 1 January 2004, the dissolution of companies with share capital is governed by new rules.A company may be dissolved because: its term of duration has expired,  the corporate aims have been achieved or circumstances have set in that make it impossible to achieve them, the shareholders’ meeting cannot or will not function, the share capital has dropped to values below the minimum legal requirements (but the company may decide to reconstitute th

In early 2003 the Italian legislator issued a law decree (n° 6 of 17 January 2003) which thoroughly reformed companies limited by shares.  The declared aim was to simplify, where appropriate, and enrich, wherever possible, the rules governing such companies, with a view to increasing their competitiveness on both domestic and international markets.Many changes were made and the following results have been achieved:  a better, though still not complete, co-ordination between the rules governi

Limited partnerships with share capital is a modified form of a company with share capital in which permanent directors manage the company who have unlimited liability, also contingent liability, for  social security liabilities. The provisions that are specific for this type of company are reduced to a few which concern above all the management of the company by the unlimited partners.    The peculiar characteristic of this type of company consists in the co-existence of two different group

On the basis of the provisions in force as of 1 January 2004, the administration of joint-stock companies may be organised according to three separate models:  the traditional model, the monistic model (of Anglo-Saxon origin) and the two-tier model (of German origin).In the traditional model, the directors have the task of running the company, and are accordingly provided with the power of being pro-active i.e. promoting the decision-making activity of the meeting (power of initiative), of i

Consortiums are formed between entrepreneurs who decide to set up a common enterprise for regulating and carrying different phases of their respective businesses. The consortiums too are of a mutual character, since the consortium’s activity is carried out in the interest of its member enterprises. “Regulating” given steps of the members’ enterprises is a typical function of internal consortiums, and may be non-competitive in nature, while the “carrying out” of given steps in the respecti

Once upon a time it was enough to say that a foreigner was someone who was not an Italian citizen. This definition – to be clear – is still valid. Except that Article 17 of the EC Treaty institutes a citizenship of the European Union which is attributed to anyone who is a citizen of a Member State. Belonging to the European Union brings with it various consequences, some of which are very important, like the prohibition on

The individual partnership may be resolved following the exclusion of a partner from the company.In some cases this occurs by law (e.g. in cases of bankruptcy), while in other cases the exclusion is decided by the other partners, when circumstances envisaged by the law or by the  partnership contract occur. Your Notary public will describe such cases to you.In all the cases examined thus far in which the relationship of a single partner ends as a result of death, withdrawal or exclusion, the

It is extremely simple to set up an informal partnership:- the contract needs not be of any special type, except where special types of assets are involved (and except for evidentiary limitations);- all that is needed to set up an informal partnership is the mutual engagement by the partners to jointly carry out a non-commercial profit-making activity;- informal partnerships must be entered into the register of companies. Such registration takes place in a special section and does not imply

Throughout the life of the company the partners may modify the partnership contract but this requires a unanimous vote, unless otherwise agreed and except for the case in which the company were to be turned into a  stock company, for mergers and spin offs, in which cases (unless otherwise decided in the shareholders’ agreement on which you should be advised by your notary) a simple majority is required by law.  The majority is established on the basis of the share of profits attributed to ea