Accounts
While Cosmos is now one of the leading firms in Rome offering company set-up services, its core business has always been dealing with the accounts of individuals and companies alike. Corporate and personal tax rates in Italy are among the highest in Western Europe, and coupled with significant pension contributions and high personnel costs it is highly important to ensure that income is maximised.
Services Offered:
PERIODIC RETURNS:
Cosmos can look after all your obligatory returns to the various agenicies in Italy. In fact, and unlike many other countries, it is quite difficult for companies to look after this on their own. VAT returns, Social Security and insurance contributions as well as standard tax returns can all be taken care of by our staff.
SOCIAL SECURITY:
Registering for, and paying contributions to INPS (the State Pensions system) is, for both companies and sole traders, obligatory and expensive. Unfortunately Cosmos cannot reduce the level of contributions that have to be paid but we can certainly make the process easier and advise, where possible, how savings can be made.
VAT:
VAT or IVA (in Italian) is obligatory for nearly all types of sales of both services and products in Italy. Offsetting IVA from purchases against those of sales is therefore an extremely important way of maximising profitability. Cosmos can offer advice on when and where IVA can be offset and can also look after periodic returns of IVA in order to maximise cashflow.
Choosing the right structure for your activity in Italy is one of the most important decisions to make during the initial set up phase. There are a number of options available and below we have chosen the three most prevalent ones. The main points for each activity are covered below but if you want more information than please contact us.
Please note that all the information that appears on these pages refer to a generic case. Each activity will have certain guidelines and rules that are not covered here. These pages attempt to let you decide in advance what is the best structure for your activity after which feel free to contact us here.
Setting up in Italy
Once you have chosen the structure that you wish to have for your activity the next stage is to actually go through all the legal and bureaucratic issues so that you can then start trading. Here we will deal with the important issues for setting up as a sole trader and as an srl.
What you will need...
DOCUMENTS NEEDED
For a sole trader, all that is needed is an identity card (passport will do), a codice fiscale, permesso di soggiorno (non EU citizens only) and, if necessary a license for the activity you wish to carry out. Further documents needed for the setting up of a company might include bank statements from your country of origin and residency certificates. Cosmos can assist in the obtaining of some of these documents
INITIAL CAPITAL
When setting up an SRL in Italy, you need to deposit the working capital in the bank account of the company. Prior to incorporation, however, you need to prove to the notary that these funds exist. For companies with more than 1 shareholder this amount is equivalent to 25% of the declared capital (minimum requirement is 10,000, therefore minimum deposit is 2,500) but for companies with only 1 director/shareholder the full amount must be available. The most common way to prove the existence of funds is to have a cheque or bank draft in the name of the new company, drawn on the account of the shareholder(s).
COMPANY DIRECTORS
The company must also appoint one, or more, administrators, basically a CEO. At least one administrator should also be a fiscal resident of Italy, though it is sometimes not the case. The Administrator is responisible for signing off the accounts at year end and is also responsible for the bank account. Cosmos can act as an administrator for companies whose directors may not be resident of Italy but prefer to do so for a limited time only and will reserve the right to do this on a case by case basis
