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Further comment has appeared on the England and Wales Family Court's decision to pierce the corporate veil in the financial remedy case of Akhmedova v Akhmedov (2018 EWFC 23 Fam). The judge considered it necessary to go against the long-standing legal principle, in response to Farkhad Akhmedov's 'continuing campaign to defeat his ex-wife by concealing his assets in a web of offshore companies', and issued orders to aid her enforcement of the judgment in the Isle of Man and Dubai FATTO

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.

The Privy Council has handed down judgment in Investec Trust (Guernsey) v Glenalla Properties (2018 UKPC 7), in which the former trustees of the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust had made loans of over GBP200 million to various BVI companies.

Trustees cannot simply brush aside beneficiaries' request for information

INTERNATIONAL - SPAIN: Foreign nationals can sue government over inheritance tax discrimination, following Supreme Court ruling

NETHERLANDS: Measures against 'letterbox companies' seek to improve country's reputation

INTERNATIONAL - UK: Foreign investors may be discouraged by capital gains tax on commercial property

INTERNATIONAL - FRANCE: Legal entities must comply with reporting obligations by April

INTERNATIONAL - AUSTRALIA: Consequences of using foreign trusts for capital gains

INTERNATIONAL - UK: Legislation this summer on register of foreign property-owners

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.

Limited partnership structures can be set up in the BVI from early 2018, in the hope of attracting private equity funds and joint venture vehicles, for which onshore tax transparency is required. They do not need to have a BVI-based general partner.

INTERNATIONAL - ISRAEL: Tax authority launches new voluntary disclosure programme

INTERNATIONAL - UK: Alarm over extension of property taxes to non-residents

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

INTERNATIONAL - AUSTRALIA: Foreign investors to pay annual charge on vacant properties

GERMANY: Expat businessman challenges exit tax for move to Switzerland

'Foundation company' vehicle established in Cayman Islands

INTERNATIONAL - UK, TRUSTS: online trusts register is delayed

INTERNATIONAL - GERMANY: Restriction of loss relief declared unconstitutional

VAT - Transfer of ownership of land in settlement of tax arrears

AUSTRALIA: New tax on foreign owners of unoccupied homes

INTERNATIONAL - UK: Information Commissioner warns of privacy threat from public registers of trusts

INTERNATIONAL - Cayman Islands: Beneficial ownership regime ready for launch

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

SOCIETA' - Corporate Governance

The italian Notary

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

The following are examples of what needs to be included in a proposal for sale or purchase and in a preliminary contract: - the precise description of the asset or assets; - the exact identification of the owner or owners and of the purchaser or purchasers; - the obligations of the vendor and of the purchaser; - the price of the sale and method of payment; - the conditions of the conveyance and relevant guarantees; - documentation of the history of the asset or assets; -

Notaries and real estates

Notaries and real estates

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

The Notary as existing in Italy belongs to the “latin (o roman)  notarial system”. The “latin notary” system is largely spread around the world, adopted by approximately 71 countries, mostly belonging to the civil law system. Although the same word “public notary” is used within the “common law” legal systems, it must be underlined very clearly from the beginning that the concept (the meaning) behind the word in the civil law system and in the common law system is completely, absolutel

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

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

The law (articles 2 and 3) provides that when entering a preliminary agreement, or any agreement or contract for which the purchaser takes on obligations and pays money in advance but does not immediately purchase the property in the building under construction, the seller must issue a bank or insurance surety bond that guarantees the entire amount paid and to be paid before the final conveyance deed (which coincides with the deed drawn up by a notary public). The surety bond is the very

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

Legalization is indispensable for a foreign public document to be valid in Italy. It consists only of the official certification - by the competent Italian consular or diplomatic authority abroad – of the legal status of the public official (or functionary) who has signed the document and the authenticity of his signature. If the document is issued by a foreign authority in Italy, it must be legalized by the Prefect in the district in which the foreign authority is located (except for the

The purchaser's main obligation is obviously to pay the agreed price to the vendor at the time the sale contract is completed. Where an advance payment has been made as a deposit, the difference must be paid to make up the full agreed price. It is legitimate for the purchaser to request a deferment of payment, but it is not his right to insist upon it, it being left to the discretion of the vendor whether or not to grant this: the purchaser's obligation to pay the price in full derives fr

In general terms, our law permits the purchase of real estate by foreigners in the following different ways:1) non-resident foreigner: only if covered by an international treaty or there is a reciprocal arrangement whereby his country of origin allows an Italian to purchase a house;2) "resident" foreigner, his family members and stateless persons resident in Italy for less than three years: with a temporary residence permit for specific reasons or a long-term residence permit;3) citizen of the E

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

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

Sales must be subject to stamp duty (so sales subject to VAT are excluded) and the purchasers must be physical persons who are not acting in the interests of a commercial, artistic or professional business activity. So the price-value system also applies to sales made by companies, businesses or entities, so long as the purchasers are "physical persons" and the transaction is subject to stamp duty (not VAT). In other words, in addition to all sales where both parties are “private”, the price-val

Law no. 52 of 1996 introduced rules into the Italian legal system to protect the consumer in his contractual relations with professionals. In order to rationalize regulations which have been complicated by a long sequence of amendments, a Consumer Code was recently published (Legislative Decree no. 206 of 6 September 2005), which contains a thorough reworking of most of the consumer-protection rules. Article 3 of the Consumer Code defines a "consumer" as a physical individual who acts

A home loan is a contract whereby one party, called the lender (usually a bank), transfers a given sum of money to a second party known as the borrower, so that the latter may use it for a given time in exchange for paying the former an amount representing interest. To this outline of the essential structure and functions of the contract must be added that a home loan includes various clauses that are not always immediately comprehensible but are necessary for regulating all the relations

The sale contract includes the personal data of both the vendor and the purchaser, including their fiscal codes, the description of the property to be transferred with an indication of its location, its nature and its boundaries, as well as its identification at the land titles office and a number of obligatory pieces of information regarding town planning and building regulations. The vendor must declare whether the property was built before 1 September 1967; if the building took place a

In general terms, the conveyance is the contract that transfers ownership of an asset or some other right in exchange for a consideration; more generically, one may say that a real estate conveyance is the formal agreement whereby one party, known as the vendor, transfers to another party, known as the purchaser, the ownership of a particular property in exchange for payment of the agreed price. Given the extreme importance of real property ownership, our legal system not only requires th

Another possible guarantee frequently used is the surety bond, whereby a third party (not the mortgagor) generically guarantees with all his own assets that the borrower will fulfil his obligations

The law completes the range of measures introduced to protect the purchaser by extending to the purchaser the right to parcel out the loan and the mortgage on the building being built, and the prohibition on selling before the division of the loan into quotas, or before discharge of the mortgage or foreclosure where these are not taken over by the new purchaser (Articles 7 and 8). The purchaser of a house to be used as his/her home has the right of pre-emption in case of an auction (Art.

The Decree does not apply in general to all real estate transactions but only to those negotiations of buildings where the seller (called “builder”) sells a building that he or others have built (Article 1, paragraph 1, letter b). Hence the law applies not only to purchases from a builder (an individual or a firm), but also to the person or firm that sells a building built by a third party. According to the Decree a “purchaser” is an individual who purchases a building or who, even though

This is the property regime whereby two spouses continue to accumulate assets after marriage exactly as though they were not married. An asset acquired by one spouse remains his or hers alone, and the other spouse has no rights over it.Naturally, the spouses may jointly acquire an asset but each may then resell (or donate) his or her half without the consent of the other (as opposed to what happens under the joint ownership regime).

As has been seen above, in order to determine the type of tax and the amount and means of payment of the sums due for duties on the purchase of a so-called primary residence, one must first of all take into account the nature of the vendor. When the vendor is the company that built (or renovated) the property and four years have not elapsed since completion, the conveyance is subject to VAT that the purchaser must pay directly to the company and not to the notary, along with the payment o

Only legal security in business and private relationships allow for economic development; therefore a constitutional state must guarantee  legal security to its citizens. To this goal: 1) lawsuits  must be prevented, for as much as possible; 2) the citizens must have access  to public registers whose records are reliable and legally trustworthy. Clearly the reliability of the findings depends entirely upon the trustworthiness of the deeds entered. An authentic deed, drawn by a

A property regime is the set of rules that govern property and the manner of administering assets belonging to a married couple so long as the marriage lasts and when the marriage ends for any reason (death, divorce).In other words, the property regime stipulates the rights that each spouse has over assets acquired (by one or other of the spouses or by both) during the marriage, both for the duration of the marriage and in the case where the marriage ends.In Italy the “normal” regime established

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

This is a simplified – but absolutely rigid - form of legalization (in the sense that it must have  exactly all the formal characteristics stipulated in the sample attached to the Hague Convention of 5/10/1961 which governs it). It is valid in all the countries that have signed the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 and replaces legalization amongst those countries alone.Like legalization, an apostille may be indispensable for a foreign public document to be valid in Italy.Like legalization, an

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

Following approval of the final settlement accounts, the liquidators must draw up a request to cancel the company from the Register of Companies, submit the cancellation request to the Office of the Register of Companies c/o the Chamber of Commerce of the province where the company is based. As a result of cancellation the company ceases to exist.

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

In general, the winding up and liquidation of an s.a.s. is governed by the rules set forth for general partnerships, to which the reader is referred (please refer to the related paragraph).However, besides the causes of dissolution that are the same for an s.n.c., there is another cause that is exclusive of the s.a.s., namely when there is only one category of partners left.In fact, it is envisaged that the s.a.s. is to be dissolved when only limited partners or only unlimited partners remai

The consortium company is a particular form of consortium which operates under the same rules as those that govern the consortium that carries out external activities, set up for carrying out activities jointly with third parties. So this type of entity is organised like a company but it also has the function of a consortium.There are also mixed consortium companies, where some members are not  entrepreneurs but their presence in the enterprise is deemed instrumental for achieving the purpos

The functioning of the company with share capital, in its traditional model, is based on the necessary simultaneous presence of three bodies:  the shareholders’ meeting, the board of directors and the board of statutory auditors, each of which has its own distinct sphere of competence. Accounts are audited by an auditor or by an audit firm, except for closed companies where this is decided in the By-laws.The shareholders’ meeting, which is a sovereign body since it is empowered to decide on

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

The dissolution and liquidation of an s.a.p.a. is governed in general by the rules put forth for companies with share capital and joint-stock companies, to which the reader is referred (please refer to the related paragraph).Besides the ordinary reasons for winding up a company with share capital, there is an additional reason which holds only for limited partnerships with share capital, i.e. the case in which all the unlimited partners step down from office and they are not replaced within

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

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

Co-operatives are associations of persons which are protected in the Italian Constitution:  in fact Article 45 of the Italian Constitution states: “the Constitution recognises the social function of co-operative societies that are based on the values of solidarity and that do not pursue goals of private profit”.In co-operatives predominant importance is ascribed to the social function, which consists in implementing a democratic decentralisation of the power of organisation and management of

Informal partnerships are the most elementary form of enterprise.The fundamental characteristic of an informal partnership is that the scope of its activities is limited to non-commercial profit-making economic activities.The scope of an informal partnership may therefore include:- agricultural activities, with certain limitations because:   the purpose of the enterprise cannot be merely that of using assets, but must consist in the joint operation of a business activity;  taci

Take the case in which the company has lost capital. What is the company allowed to do?In this connection the law envisages that, in case of losses, the company cannot distribute profits among the partners until the capital has been reduced or replenished by the corresponding amount.However, unlike what happens for companies with share capital, there is no obligation to reduce the capital whatever the amount of the losses incurred, even if the latter are such as to wipe out the  entire capit

In carrying out its business, the company can use distinctive features such as a name, sign-board and trademark.The name characterizes the entrepreneur in exercising the company’s business, the trademark identifies and distinguishes the goods and services produced by a company and the sign-board identifies the premises where the business is carried out.

Let us take the case in which the Parties decide to undertake an entrepreneurial activity by setting up  a partnership.What would the general characteristics of such a company be?First of all, as regards the unlimited and joint liability of the partners:- in the case of a general partnership, all the partners have unlimited and joint liability;- in the case of an informal partnership, all the partners have unlimited and joint liability, but there can be an agreement whereby the partners who

The management of a company is the activity of running the corporate enterprise. The power of management is the power of carrying out any activity that falls within the scope of the corporate purpose.When the management of the company falls on more than one partner (all or some), and the partnership contract makes no provision on how the power of management is to be exercised, then the notion of  separate management shall apply:  each partner is a director, that is, he has the power of manag

In  share capital companies the financial autonomy is perfect in that the shareholders are accountable for the debts of the company only in proportion to the share they hold.This means:- that the personal creditors of a shareholder can never receive payment from the company;- that creditors of the company, in turn, can never expect the members to use their personal assets to pay for the company’s debts.The financial circumstances of the shareholder of a company with share capital will never

In order to do business often huge investments are required and often a single person may not have that amount of financial means. Doing business through a company enables several people to invest and work together so that each individual may then enjoy the benefits of the activity carried out proportionately to the amount of work done and to the quota of investments made.A participation (share or quota) of the capital of the company is assigned to the partner in return for the assets he has

In its Memorandum of Association each company must indicate an office address where it will presumably carry out its administrative and management activities.The company may set up one or more branch offices where it carries out its business, with an organizational and administrative autonomy, and normally with a stable representative.

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

The relationship between a partner and the company ends automatically when the partner dies. Within six months from his death, the surviving partners have the duty of returning the share held by the dead partner to his heirs. The surviving partners are not obliged to accept that the heirs of the deceased member should succeed him by taking his place in the company.The surviving partners have two options they can choose from. They may either decide:- to wind up the company in advance;- to car