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Working as a freelance translator in Italy
Thread poster: Céline REY
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:31
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Traps Feb 16, 2021

Many traps await. As we already see here, every question leads to another question.

 
Marina Taffetani
Marina Taffetani  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 13:31
Member (2013)
German to Italian
+ ...
Tax system in Italy Feb 16, 2021

If you have a French passport, you are an EU citizen and don't need any permesso di soggiorno. No EU citizen needs that. Things have changed for UK citizens after Brexit, but since you have a French passport, you won't have any problem.

However, yes, Italian bureaucracy is kafkaesque, although you will sometimes meet the occasional kind employee who will answer all your questions. I'd never have believed this if someone had told me, but it's actually happened to me a few years ago,
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If you have a French passport, you are an EU citizen and don't need any permesso di soggiorno. No EU citizen needs that. Things have changed for UK citizens after Brexit, but since you have a French passport, you won't have any problem.

However, yes, Italian bureaucracy is kafkaesque, although you will sometimes meet the occasional kind employee who will answer all your questions. I'd never have believed this if someone had told me, but it's actually happened to me a few years ago, so I guess they DO exist after all

You absolutely need an accountant, unless you are extremely tax-savvy (and I believe you won't be familiar with Italian fiscal law since you've never lived here before), you won't be able to understand anything about our very complex system and end up spending days just trying to figure it out. Tom's experience is not the norm, I'd say, but you still need to choose wisely.

Regime forfettario is rather convenient if you don't earn more than a certain amount. I believe it's €65,000/year. The flat tax will be lower for the first few years if your (Italian) VAT number is newly registered. You can see some information here, if you understand Italian: https://www.informazionefiscale.it/regime-forfettario-2021-come-funziona-limiti-requisiti-partite-IVA I believe it's 5% of your revenue for the first few years (5 years? not sure), but you will need to register for the "gestione separata INPS", which is 25% of your revenue. So, summing up, taxes will be 30%, and then increase to 40% after the first few years (15% + 25%).

If you can't or don't want to register for regime forfettario, you will need to register for regime ordinario which is more expensive and you will be under many fiscal obligations, but I know nothing about them as I am in regime forfettario myself.

When I registered my VAT number back in 2013, there was a different, more convenient option for people under 35, but I'm not sure it's still in place.

Your accountant will advise on which "regime" is more convenient for you.

PS. I certainly miss my days in Luxembourg, when the tax system was a breeze (although admittedly I wasn't self-employed at the time).

[Edited at 2021-02-16 10:23 GMT]
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Tom in London
Tony Keily
 
Céline REY
Céline REY
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:31
English to French
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks! Feb 16, 2021

Thanks for your various feedback (accountant, tax regime, etc.). Clearly bureaucracy seems to be quite a challenge!
If our move to Milan is confirmed, let's hope we'll discover some benefits of living in Italy.


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:31
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Milano Feb 16, 2021

CR-London wrote:

Thanks for your various feedback (accountant, tax regime, etc.). Clearly bureaucracy seems to be quite a challenge!
If our move to Milan is confirmed, let's hope we'll discover some benefits of living in Italy.


I know Milan well, having worked there and even written a book about the city!

Unlike other Italian cities it is not beautiful (although it has some interesting historical parts). It is the most modern place in Italy, a big, busy hardworking city. The people are delightfully civil and hospitable. The food is WONDERFUL. Cultural life is rich. But you will want to get away at the weekend. Beginning from Friday lunchtime, everyone disappears and the city becomes half-deserted. They have gone either to the Lakes or the Mountains (although in this pandemic, they are not supposed to).

But Milan only reveals itself slowly. Give it time.

Sometimes I think Italy has a nightmarish administrative system because if Italy had an efficient, easy-to-understand administrative system, everyone in the world would want to live there. So the nightmarish administrative system is a protective shield to keep people away.



[Edited at 2021-02-16 11:47 GMT]


Wolfgang Schoene
Michele Fauble
Chiara Santoriello
Marina Taffetani
Tony Keily
 
Angie Garbarino
Angie Garbarino  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:31
Member (2003)
French to Italian
+ ...
And this is why Feb 17, 2021

Tom in London wrote:

Sometimes I think Italy has a nightmarish administrative system because if Italy had an efficient, easy-to-understand administrative system, everyone in the world would want to live there. So the nightmarish administrative system is a protective shield to keep people away.



[Edited at 2021-02-16 11:47 GMT]


Spain is full of expats from all over the world, good weather, good lifestyle and easy to understand administrative system


 
Tony Keily
Tony Keily
Local time: 13:31
Italian to English
+ ...
Watch out for pension contributions Mar 31, 2021

As suggested above, the main problem is not so much income tax as the huge pensions contributions levied on all taxable income, which will almost certainly never amount to a level of entitlements above the minimum state pension paid in some other EU states.

Maybe if you go for the simplified option, things won't be as bad as they seem in terms of red tape. Normally I've found my local revenue agency people to be quite friendly. A few years ago, I went to their office to ask about h
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As suggested above, the main problem is not so much income tax as the huge pensions contributions levied on all taxable income, which will almost certainly never amount to a level of entitlements above the minimum state pension paid in some other EU states.

Maybe if you go for the simplified option, things won't be as bad as they seem in terms of red tape. Normally I've found my local revenue agency people to be quite friendly. A few years ago, I went to their office to ask about how I should pay tax on a secondary activity I was planning and the helpful guy there just told me, "Look, NOBODY declares that kind of thing!"

You can also consult the "CAF" (tax assistance) section of trade union offices for advice and help with tax. They have fixed rates even for non-members. Recently I used their services for means testing and they were brilliant, not even charging me for the service. Maybe someone else here can point you in the right direction in Milan. (I used the local UIL, not for any ideological reasons but because someone told me they were good in our town -- here's the link for Lombardy: https://www.cafuil.lombardia.it/chi-siamo/).

[Edited at 2021-03-31 09:33 GMT]

[Edited at 2021-03-31 09:39 GMT]
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Tony Keily
Tony Keily
Local time: 13:31
Italian to English
+ ...
Damn right Mar 31, 2021

They have gone either to the Lakes or the Mountains (although in this pandemic, they are not supposed to).


I live near the lake, under the mountains. The Milanese still come thundering up every weekend in their SUVs to fall into ravines looking for mushrooms or chestnuts or start avalanches while snowboarding, their last seconds being recorded on helmet-held Go-Pros and later posted on Facebook tribute pages in their memory.

No, seriously, it's a great city, with great inhabitants, but it can be a bit off-putting at first sight.

[Edited at 2021-03-31 09:08 GMT]

[Edited at 2021-03-31 09:11 GMT]


Isabella Modanese
Wolfgang Schoene
 
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