Volentary Disclosure Italy
Oct 28th 2016, 6:01 pm
#1
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Volentary Disclosure Italy
Has any body gone through this mess. My family members left me some money and now it seems that the Italian government want to get their hands on it. Very worried. Is they anybody that has been through this with success?
Oct 28th 2016, 7:47 pm
#2
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Location: Verona/ Nr Turin
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Re: Volentary Disclosure Italy
AFAIK. Voluntary disclosure is for people who have money/activities abroad that they have never declared to AdE. An inheritance does not fall it to this category. Inheritance tax is due where you inherit -usually. However, if you have the money, in an oversea's bank account it needs to be declared in RW box of your tax return.
Oct 29th 2016, 5:26 am
#3
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,513
Re: Volentary Disclosure Italy
Exactly, its for people who exported money and now want to bringit back without paying penalties. You have an inheritance which is not taxable. You are resident? Your inheritance comes from inside or outside Italy? The only way you could be liable is if the money you inherited was hidden away from the fisco and they've caught up with it.
Oct 29th 2016, 9:44 am
#4
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Posts: 254
Re: Volentary Disclosure Italy
As tax resident in Italy, now that you have some extra money overseas, you must declare it on a RW form, as 37100 said, which is a declaration of your "wealth" abroad (and so they can keep tabs on what you do with it year on year -- unless you move the money to Italy in which case this issue will no longer exist, since they have their own monitoring systems in Italy itself).
So, if you have never had occasion to do a tax return, maybe because you are a "dependent" of someone else who does one, you must now declare that money on your own behalf. Even if your earnings are essentially zero, you must still declare the overseas wealth.
What to do next depends on some questions:
1. Was the succession done in the UK or Italy?
2. Are you Italian tax resident?
3. When did you inherit the money?
4. Have you been doing yearly tax returns (730 / UNICO)?
If you can answer those questions, I MIGHT be able to help further (depends how complicated it is!!!!).
Last edited by Donna Noble; Oct 29th 2016 at 9:47 am.
Oct 29th 2016, 2:05 pm
#5
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Posts: 254
Re: Volentary Disclosure Italy
PS: If you think you should have declared something you didn't the Voluntary Disclosure route will be your last resort. Don't jump in because it is a very expensive process, just to hire a lawyer to take it on will set you back €10k. And that doesn't include the fines. Beware there are some legal advisors that will try to get you to do VD when actually it might not be necessary. You might be able to do a ravvedimento operoso instead that still involves paying fines but is not as expensive as VD!
Oct 29th 2016, 6:13 pm
#6
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Re: Volentary Disclosure Italy
If you (as a tax resident in Italy) were left money by a UK relative with a UK Will, and it was put into a UK bank account then yes, you have to declare the amount you now have in that bank account. But it is nothing to do with inheritance, that would have been completed in the UK, the succession is nothing to do with Italy.
As tax resident in Italy, now that you have some extra money overseas, you must declare it on a RW form, as 37100 said, which is a declaration of your "wealth" abroad (and so they can keep tabs on what you do with it year on year -- unless you move the money to Italy in which case this issue will no longer exist, since they have their own monitoring systems in Italy itself).
So, if you have never had occasion to do a tax return, maybe because you are a "dependent" of someone else who does one, you must now declare that money on your own behalf. Even if your earnings are essentially zero, you must still declare the overseas wealth.
What to do next depends on some questions:
1. Was the succession done in the UK or Italy? UK
2. Are you Italian tax resident? YES
3. When did you inherit the money?2000
4. Have you been doing yearly tax returns (730 / UNICO)? SELF EMPLOYEED EXPORTING ITALIAN GOODS! BUT MY ACCOUNTANT KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT VD. EVEN HE HE IS NOT SURE WHAT TO DO. I have spoken to 2 Italian accountants and they are all in the same boat.
If you can answer those questions, I MIGHT be able to help further (depends how complicated it is!!!!).
As tax resident in Italy, now that you have some extra money overseas, you must declare it on a RW form, as 37100 said, which is a declaration of your "wealth" abroad (and so they can keep tabs on what you do with it year on year -- unless you move the money to Italy in which case this issue will no longer exist, since they have their own monitoring systems in Italy itself).
So, if you have never had occasion to do a tax return, maybe because you are a "dependent" of someone else who does one, you must now declare that money on your own behalf. Even if your earnings are essentially zero, you must still declare the overseas wealth.
What to do next depends on some questions:
1. Was the succession done in the UK or Italy? UK
2. Are you Italian tax resident? YES
3. When did you inherit the money?2000
4. Have you been doing yearly tax returns (730 / UNICO)? SELF EMPLOYEED EXPORTING ITALIAN GOODS! BUT MY ACCOUNTANT KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT VD. EVEN HE HE IS NOT SURE WHAT TO DO. I have spoken to 2 Italian accountants and they are all in the same boat.
If you can answer those questions, I MIGHT be able to help further (depends how complicated it is!!!!).
Oct 29th 2016, 6:14 pm
#7
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Re: Volentary Disclosure Italy
What is ravvedimento operoso?
Oct 29th 2016, 7:46 pm
#8
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 254
Re: Volentary Disclosure Italy
If you have been doing tax returns, you can set the record straight, as it were, by doing a RO, that is to have the tax return redone to include your undeclared wealth. They can be done going back 5 years, you should find a reliable accountant THAT HAS DONE IT BEFORE, because they will have to work out the fines and put in the payment for you. The fine is based on the amount undeclared.
If you haven't been doing tax returns -- you are facing the voluntary disclosure route, but you know what I would do first? I would go along to your local agenzia d'entrate and fix a meeting with the highest up person you can, even if it means waiting, and I would explain to them what has happened, and say you are fully perpared to pay the fines but you were misadvised (or whatever excuse you feel fit), basically apologise unreservedly, it wont happen again etc, and see what happens. They might accept that, they might not .... anything would be better than having your financial situation being delved into in the smallest detail, and I understand VD will mean getting written legal declarations from all sorts of authorities in the UK. You see really VD is for billionnaires with money stashed in tax havens etc.
If you haven't been doing tax returns -- you are facing the voluntary disclosure route, but you know what I would do first? I would go along to your local agenzia d'entrate and fix a meeting with the highest up person you can, even if it means waiting, and I would explain to them what has happened, and say you are fully perpared to pay the fines but you were misadvised (or whatever excuse you feel fit), basically apologise unreservedly, it wont happen again etc, and see what happens. They might accept that, they might not .... anything would be better than having your financial situation being delved into in the smallest detail, and I understand VD will mean getting written legal declarations from all sorts of authorities in the UK. You see really VD is for billionnaires with money stashed in tax havens etc.
Oct 29th 2016, 8:25 pm
#9
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Re: Volentary Disclosure Italy
Thanks for your help, but going to the agenzia d'entrate is out of the question. I had a "close encounter" with them in the past, over a corrupt accountant, they were not at all gentlemen or understanding (I could say much more). In fact if it had not been due to my family, I would have left Italy years ago! Not a place to live and/or work (I have been here since 1978). Excluding the people, I truly hate this Country with all my heart! And I have given more to Italy than many Italians.
