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ABITAZIONE PRINCIPALE (MAIN RESIDENCE): it is the house where is habitually resident the taxpayer who owns the possessory title or other real right, or other family members (spouse, relatives within the third degree and in-laws up to the second degree). The main residence benefits from a range of tax reliefs both for income tax and local taxes on real estate.

ACCANTONAMENTI (PROVISIONS): apportionment of quotas of income to funds aimed at covering risks or expenses. Tax legislation allows the deduction of some types of provisions from income within established amounts. The main provisions concern the fund set aside for severance pay, the credit risks fund and the exchange risks fund.

ACCATASTAMENTO (CADASTRAL REGISTRATION): registration of real estate properties in the cadastral register with the consequent attribution of cadastral income. Owners must report, to the local office of the Agenzia del Territorio, new buildings within 30 days from the moment they become habitable or in any case suitable for the use to which they were intended. Currently, with the DOCFA (Documenti Catasto Fabbricati, Land documents) online procedure, the taxpayer can, with the assistance of a qualified professional, suggest the cadastral value. For real estate properties that have not yet been registered, for tax purposes the owner can refer to the value established for similar buildings. If it rectifies the cadastral value already established or suggested by the taxpayer, the Agenzia del Territorio must notify the person concerned of the new value against which it is possible to make an appeal to the competent Tax Commission within 60 days.

ACCERTAMENTO (ASSESSMENT): action or actions taken by the Revenue Agency, within precise deadlines, to determine the taxable income and tax of the taxpayer. For main taxes it can be of various types (analytical, synthetic, inference, etc.) depending on the way in which it is carried out. For the assessment, the offices generally use the elements resulting from the database of the tax registers and information acquired directly (also through access, inspections and verifications at the taxpayer’s property) or indirectly. The assessment procedure is normally concluded with the notification of the charges through a specific notice. There is usually only one assessment, which is all encompassing and, therefore, cannot be “integrated” with the notification of further assessment, except on the basis of the subsequent discovery of new elements. However, the offices can notify the taxpayer of a partial assessment, based on information in the tax register or communications sent from the Finance Police or public administrations or resulting from the statistics-based tax assessment. The partial assessment may, for example, concern income from company stocks, from buildings, undue deductions, exemptions and reductions and does not exclude the possibility of subsequent assessments of a general nature, always within the established deadlines.

ACCERTAMENTO CATASTALE (CADASTRAL VERIFICATION): an operation consisting in the identification, even by a specific on-site visit, of the property unit reported, in order to verify the correctness of the data and elements declared, as well as the correspondence between the planimetry and the actual state of the property.

ACCERTAMENTO CON ADESIONE o CONCORDATO (VERIFICATION WITH ACCEPTANCE or COMPOSITION): procedure on the basis of which the correction of the declared taxable base (or its determination in case of no tax return) is made through discussions between the financial office and the taxpayer. It is concluded with a document of the office signed, in acceptance, also by the taxpayer. Taxpayers who agree to the verification have various advantages, among which:

• the reduction to a quarter of penalties;

• the reduction of the penalties envisaged for tax crimes (up to half) and the non-application of accessory sanctions, if the verification with acceptance is finalised before the first level case is started;

• the total closing of the dispute (the Revenue Agency cannot carry out verification of the taxable income agreed on, except in specific and strictly particular cases).

The definition may concern all the main taxes (direct taxes such as Irpef, Ires, Irap, substitute taxes) and indirect taxes (VAT, registration fee and mortgage and cadastral taxes). The procedure is finalised with the payment of the amounts owed, which can even be made in instalments. In such case legal interest is due and the taxpayer is also expected to give a guarantee. (See: judicial conciliation).

ACCESSI, ISPEZIONI, VERIFICHE (ACCESS, INSPECTIONS, VERIFICATIONS): verification activities of various types carried out at the taxpayer’s business premises. After they have begun the taxpayer loses the right to avail of certain options envisaged in his/her favor (for example, voluntary correction of tax return).

ACCESSO (ACCESS): power to enter a place and stay there, even without or against the consent of the taxpayer, in order to carry out the operations authorized by the person in charge at the competent Revenue Agency Office. Current legislation allows access to both business premises or agricultural activities and in those intended for the exercise of crafts and professions. If it needs to be carried out in other places (for example a private house) the authorization of the Public Prosecutor is required, justified by the existence of serious evidence of tax violations (see: Powers of the offices).

ACCISE (EXCISE DUTY): indirect taxes that affect certain fuel products or alcohol. Depending on the case, the tax may be due from the moment of production or import or from the moment in which the product is made available for consumption. The following activities are subject to excise duties: production of spirits and beer, production of mineral oils, consumption of electricity, consumption of methane gas, consumption of lubricant oils.

ACCONTO ADDIZIONALE COMUNALE IRPEF (DOWN PAYMENT OF THE COUNCIL SUPPLEMENT IRPEF): since 2007 a down payment of 30% is required for the council supplement tax. This is calculated on the basis of the supplement tax owed on the taxable base of the previous year, according to the rates established by the Municipality, which is retained starting from the month of March in a maximum number of 9 instalments. The final payment of the supplement is determined at the moment of the balance operations and the relevant amount is retained in a maximum number of 11 instalments, starting from the payment period subsequent to the one in which they were carried out, but no later than December.

ACCONTO IRPEF (DOWN PAYMENT OF IRPEF): it is the amount that the taxpayer is generally expected to pay as down payment on the income tax due for the current year. In order to establish if the down payment is due or not, it is necessary to refer to the tax calculated in the tax return of the previous year. If the resulting Irpef debt:

• is no higher than euro 51.65, then no payment is due;

• is higher than euro 51.65, then a down payment of 99% of the amount is due.

In this case, the taxpayer must pay the sum owed:

• in a single payment (by the end of the month of November) if the amount due is lower than 257.52 euro;

• in two instalments (the first one of 40%, to be paid within the deadline envisaged for the closing balance of the tax relating to the previous year; the second one of 60%, to be paid by the end of the month of November) if the amount due is equal to or higher than 257.52 euro.

The taxpayer who expects to declare a lower tax in the subsequent tax return can determine the down payment on the basis of the tax expected.

ACQUIESCENZA (ACQUIESCENCE): payment within the deadlines of the amounts due following an assessment carried out by the Revenue Agency, without contesting it and without having recourse to the verification with acceptance, with a right to a reduction of the sanctions. The amounts due following assessment can also be paid in installments. In this case legal interest has to be paid and the taxpayer is expected to give a guarantee.

ACQUISTI IN SOSPENSIONE D'IMPOSTA (PURCHASES WITH TAX SUSPENSION): right granted to frequent exporters to purchase goods and services without incurring VAT, within the limits of a certain amount (ceiling). The status of frequent exporter is acquired if the level of exports or similar operations registered in the previous solar year or in the previous twelve months has been higher than 10% of the volume of business. The aim is to prevent an excessive build up of VAT credit, since this would end up penalising exporting companies.

ACQUISTI INTRACOMUNITARI (INTRA-EU PURCHASES): all the acquisitions, deriving from deeds against payment, of the ownership of property or of other real property rights, sent or transported on Italian territory from another member State by the seller, in his/her role of taxable subject, or by the purchaser or by third parties on their behalf.

ADEMPIMENTO (FULFILMENT): the carrying out of a duty required to the taxpayer: for example, the submission of the income tax return or the payment of taxes.

ADDIZIONALE IRPEF (SUPPLEMENTS TO IRPEF): taxes owed by natural persons. Supplements are calculated by applying a fixed rate to Irpef. They are intended for the Region (regional supplement) and for the Municipalities where the tax domicile is (council supplement). For employees and similar subjects it is the withholding agents that withhold the tax. Other taxpayers have to calculate and pay the supplements at the moment of their tax return.

AGENTI DELLA RISCOSSIONE (TAX COLLECTION AGENTS): companies that, within a certain territory, are entrusted on a concession basis with the task of collecting taxes, even by force, on behalf of the Revenue Agency.

AGENZIE FISCALI (TAX AGENCIES): non-economic public bodies created from the organizational review of the Ministry of Finances, carried out with the legislative decree 300/99. The four agencies (Revenue Agency, Customs, Territory and State Property Office) carry out the functions previously entrusted to the departments of the old ministry. They have full autonomy in regulation, administration, treasury, organization, accounts and finance within the limits set by a convention agreed every year with the Ministry of Economy and Finances, which sets the strategic aims and carries out a constant monitoring of their activities. From 1 December 2012 the Italian Revenue Agency has incorporated the Real Estate and Land Registry Agency (Agenzia del Territorio).

AGEVOLAZIONE FISCALE (TAX CONCESSION): preferential treatment granted in certain cases; it generally consists of the application of a reduced rate or in the concession of tax credits, deductions from the taxable base, detractions, and exemptions.

AGEVOLAZIONI "DE MINIMIS" ("DE MINIMIS" CONCESSIONS): limited economic aid that EU Member States can freely grant to companies without having to wait for the issuing of the prescribed authorization from the European Commission. Starting from 1st January 2007 the ‘de minimis’ regime allows companies to receive aid on this basis of up to 500,000 euro over three years.

AGEVOLAZIONE PER DISABILI (CONCESSIONS FOR DISABLES): tax benefits provided for disables, considerably increased by the tax laws of recent years. The main reductions are:

• for vehicles;

• for other means of assistance and technical and IT equipment;

• for general medical expenses and expenses for specific assistance for disabled people;

• for the elimination of architectural barriers;

• for personal assistance.

AGGIO (PREMIUM): sum that the agent receives for the collection of taxes.

ALIQUOTA (RATE): percentage applied to the taxable base to determine the tax. The rate indicates the amount of money deducted for tax and can be fixed (as, for example, for Ires) or can vary depending on the increase of the taxable base. In this case it is said to be ‘progressive’ (for example Irpef rates).

ALIQUOTA MARGINALE (MARGINAL RATE): percentage of tax applied to the portion of income falling within the last tax bracket.

ALIQUOTA MEDIA (AVERAGE RATE): deriving from the difference between the overall amount of the tax and the taxable income.

AMMORTAMENTO DEI BENI (AMORTIZATION OF GOODS): accounting procedure in which the original cost of a product of durable nature, both tangible (machinery, installations, buildings, vehicles) and intangible (goodwill) is taken into consideration in order to determine the costs relating to each tax period. This procedure is carried out in cases when the contribution of a certain product to the economic activity has a longer duration than the period of time in which the business result is calculated (usually a year).

ANAGRAFE TRIBUTARIA (TAX REGISTER INFORMATION SYSTEM): centre for gathering and processing data of financial interest concerning all natural persons, companies, and entities to which an identification code (tax code , VAT number) has been attributed by the Revenue Agency. From the Tax Register the offices of the Revenue Agency can obtain the information needed for the purposes of carrying out the assessment of income and of combating tax evasion. It also collects elements and information regarding economic movements that are relevant for tax purposes, which can be used by other public administrations with cross-reference verifications.

ARMONIZZAZIONE FISCALE (FISCAL HARMONIZATION): process of integrating the tax systems of member States of the European Union, based on the convergence of all national legislations towards common principles.

ASSEVERAZIONE (ASSEVERATION): certification that applies to all taxpayers to whom statistics-based tax assessments are applied. It is issued, at the taxpayer’ request, by the persons in charge of the fiscal assistance centres for companies (CAF IMPRESE) as well as by professionals qualified for the on line transmission of tax returns. The asseveration certifies that the accounting and non-accounting data transmitted to the tax administration, and relevant to the application of statistics-based tax assessments, correspond to those shown in the accounting records and in other documentation. Connected items: fiscal certification, tax certification, conformity permit.

ASSISTENZA TECNICA (TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE): during the tax trial , this is the possibility to use the services of a qualified legal counsel. Technical assistance is optional when the dispute concerns taxes of an amount no higher than 2,582.28 euro. It is compulsory in other cases. Persons who cannot afford it are guaranteed free assistance.

ATTIVITA' (BUSINESS): practice of an enterprise, craft or profession in Italy. Businesses are grouped in socio-economic categories according to a classification deriving from the national accounting system. The list can be consulted on the Revenue Agency website. Whoever sets up a business in Italy must communicate it – also by the Internet – to the Revenue Agency within 30 days, which will then assign a VAT code. Variations and closing down of businesses must also be communicated. Connected items: Business (setting up of a business, variation, closing of business), Electronic commerce, VAT number.

ATTIVITA’ AGRICOLE (AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES): for the purposes of income tax these are:

• activities involving the cultivation of land and silviculture;

• the raising of animals with fodder, at least a quarter of which can be obtained from land and activities aimed at the production of plants with the use of fixed or mobile structures, even provisional, if the surface reserved for production does not exceed twice that of the land on which the production is carried out;

• activities aimed at the processing, transformation and alienation of agricultural and zoo-technical products, even if not carried out on the land, which fall within the normal exercise of agriculture according to the relative techniques aimed at products of which at least half are obtained from the land and from the animals raised on it.

ATTIVITA’ CHIUSURA (CLOSING OF BUSINESS): declaration that must be submitted in case of closing down of business within thirty days from the date on which the operations relating to the company’s liquidation are terminated.

ATTIVITA’ INIZIO (SETTING UP BUSINESS): declaration that must be submitted, also via the Internet, to the Revenue Agency within 30 days from the beginning of any type of economic activity or by the establishment of the company. The Revenue Agency assigns a VAT code that remains unvaried until the moment of closing down of the business, even in case the taxpayer’s tax domicile changes. From 1 April 2010, to submit the declaration of business setting up, change of data or closing down, taxpayers required to register in the Business Register or in the Rea (Economic and Administrative Register) should submit, on line or in electronic form, the “Comunicazione unica” (Single Communication) to an office of the Business Register.

ATTO A TITOLO ONEROSO (AGAINST PAYMENT DEED): deed that implies an expense or compensation. For example, sales (as opposed to donations, which are “free deeds”).

AUTOCONSUMO (PERSONAL CONSUMPTION): personal consumption, by the individual entrepreneur or by the individual practising a craft or profession, of the goods or services produced. This use is subject to a particular fiscal discipline with regard both to direct taxes and to VAT.

AUTOFATTURA (SELF-INVOICING): fiscal document that in some cases the client must issue, thus substituting the supplier.

AUTOLIQUIDAZIONE (SELF-ASSESSMENT TAXATION): calculation and payment of taxes due carried out directly by the taxpayer in cases envisaged by the law.

AUTONOMIA TRIBUTARIA (TAX AUTONOMY): power bestowed on Regions and local authorities to set and collect their own taxes, in compliance with the Constitution and according to the principles of coordination of public finance and of the tax system.

AUTOTUTELA (SELF-DEFENCE): the possibility that every public administration has to correct its own errors without the need for a judicial decision. The Revenue Agency makes the correction either on request of the taxpayer or on its own initiative. It is not necessary for the taxpayer to have submitted an appeal to the Tax Commission. Any deed which in itself has the potential of harming the interests of the taxpayer can be the object of re-examination. The same office that issued the deed is competent to annul an unlawful deed. In the event that the office omits to follow up the annulment without justified reason, the Regional Direction on which the office depends can do so instead. The power to annul the deed, or to renounce the imposition, exists in all cases of unlawfulness of the deed or imposition, such as for example in cases of:

• mistaken identity;

• obvious logical or calculation error;

• error concerning the tax due;

• double imposition;

• lack of consideration of payments regularly made;

• lack of documentation subsequently remedied (not after the deadlines);

• existence of the requirements to benefit from deductions, detractions or concessions, previously denied

• material error of the taxpayer, easily recognizable by the administration.

The annulment can be carried out even if the judgement is pending or if the deed has already become definitive due to the expiry of the deadline to appeal and even if the taxpayer has submitted an appeal and this has been rejected for reasons of formality (the appeal is inadmissible, it cannot proceed, it cannot be accepted, etc.) where the ruling has become final. The only case in which the annulment is not allowed is when there is a judgement favourable to the office with regard to merit. The annulment of the unlawful deed automatically entails the annulment of the deeds consequent thereto (for example, the withdrawal of an unfounded verification notice entails the annulment of the subsequent enrolment on the tax register and of the relative notices of payment) and the duty to return the sums unduly collected.

AVVISO DI ACCERTAMENTO (VERIFICATION NOTICE): deed through which the fiscal office formally notifies the taxpayer of a debt. The notice, which must always be motivated, otherwise it is invalid, also according to the dispositions of the Taxpayers’ Statute, must indicate:

• the taxable base ascertained and the rates applied;

• the taxes settled, gross and net of deductions, withholding tax and tax credits;

• the office where it is possible to obtain information as well as the person responsible for the procedure;

• the modalities and deadline for payment;

• the judicial authority to which it is possible to appeal.

The notice can be appealed by the tax payer within 60 days from its notification.