sole sanzioni

16:26 Feb 18, 2011 

They are recurring one-off occurrences an exquisite oxymoron. I think Tremonti has done at least two condoni fiscali (started in 1992) and two "scudo fiscali". Spadolini did one in 1982 soon after I arrived.

15:05 Feb 18, 2011 

I had to summarise both for the ECB, Jim, plus Dad is a specialist in EU VAT (Malachy Cornwell-Kelly, he even wrote a book on it), so yes, I have already been initiated into the joys of Italian taxation...but condoni are (supposedly) one-off amnesties, while actually inserting a 3/4 incentive to pay a fine really had me wondering!

14:59 Feb 18, 2011 

Not heard of the "scudo fiscale" (capital repatriation anmesty) Deborah or Tremonti's "condono fiscale 2003"? Both go a good deal further than reducing fines. I did a lot of translations on it for tax consultants. Take a little read:
http://www.federalberghi.it/pubblicazioni/condonifiscali.pdf
It is not very enjoyable if you are a person like me who always pays their taxes. Having said that I forgot to pay my VAT on 27 of December and ended up paying a fine of around 60 euro on a payment of 2,500 euro, when I eventually remembered on 6th Jan.

14:35 Feb 18, 2011 

Fortunately this isn't my tax mess-up, but a client's :)

14:34 Feb 18, 2011 

actually, I think it's a fair bit more than 10%...

14:33 Feb 18, 2011 

no idea about UK. The idea as you say is to encourage you to pay up quick. If you contest the fine, or the amount of unpaid tax, as I said you have to pay a quarter of the fine rather than an eighth, but if you can demonstrate that the Agenzia have made a mistake, then the amount of tax you owe may be reduced, so it may be worth contesting if you feel you've got a strong case. As Thomas says, the fines can be pretty nasty

14:32 Feb 18, 2011 

In the UK it's a bit more relaxed. There is a flat rate fine of 100 pounds for filing late, and even there if you have a reasonable excuse they'll most likely let you off. I think in Italy the fine is a percentage of the tax due (10% I seem to remember) so if you have a large tax bill you risk getting stung quite badly for the fine.

14:26 Feb 18, 2011 

...is this the same in the UK? or is it a purely Italian incentive to pay quickly (or at all?)?

14:23 Feb 18, 2011 

Actually yes. If the Agenzia delle Entrate sends you a fine for unpaid tax, you only pay an eighth of the fine if you pay within 60 days. If you contest the fine they'll give you a further 90 days (I think), but you have to pay a quarter of the fine. If you don't pay within 60 days and don't contest the fine either, you have to pay the full whack. You of course have to pay any unpaid tax as well; the reductions are only for the fine