More strict criminal penalties for unfaithful and missed tax returns

The new Law Decree has significantly increased the criminal sanctions envisaged for unfaithful and missed tax returns.

In particular, with reference to the unfaithful return, anyone caught in one of the annual declarations relating to income taxes (or VAT) with a tax evasion higher than 100,000 euros and with a total amount of the assets deducted from the tax (including the indication of non-existent passive items) which are more than 10% of the total amount of the active elements indicated in the declaration (or, in any case, exceeding 2,000,000 euros), would be charged with imprisonment from two to five years.

With regard to the missed return, anyone caught with the intention to evade income or value added taxes, is charged with imprisonment from two to six years in case he does not file one of the declarations relating to VAT or income tax, when the tax evaded it is higher than 50,000 euros.

The two types of omitted and unfaithful declarations are very frequent in the case of high net worth individuals who transfer their residence to Italy for reasons related to their “elective residence” and who cannot be considered tax resident in the other Contracting State pursuant to International Treaties.

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