Berlusconi and Son Under Investigation

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s legal woes seem to be never ending.  Up until recently, it was only Silvio himself who had attracted the attentions of law enforcement authorities in Italy.

Now though, Silvio Berlusconi’s son, Mediaset Vice-Chairman Piersilvio, has been named in investigations into an alleged attempt by an arm of the Berlusconi family’s Mediaset empire, MediaTrade, to defraud Italy’s tax system. … Continue Reading

A Taxing Problem

It’s just about 1:30 in the morning here in Milan.  I should be heading for bed, but my head is awash with thoughts, and I want to try and create order from the chaos reigning in my mind.  I’m thinking about Italy‘s incredibly high levels of tax evasion.

Yes, I know taxation is probably not the most thrilling issue to be writing about, but then that’s what comes of having a mind which thinks about too many things in a desperate search for explanations.

If you feel like finding out just what my crazed mind has been turning over, then read on, otherwise skip to something lighter like my recent post on Floriovo, which is much more drinkable. … Continue Reading

Tax Deductible Drugs

I went to the chemists/pharmacy today to get some more cough syrup and came across the spanking new system for registering purchases from these places, which I had heard about a few days before. Now, when you pay for your drugs you can also hand over your health card – a credit card sized piece of plastic – and your ‘codice fiscale’ – tax code – will be written onto the receipt for the pills or potions you have just bought. The personalised receipt can then be passed to your accountant who will arrange to have a certain amount deducted from your income. Neat.

This new system has been introduced, I suspect, to cut down on tax fiddles because in the past a receipt for just about anything from a pharmacy could have been written off against income tax. And you can be sure that all manner of face creams and other cosmetics had become tax deductible. With the new system, this will no longer be possible, or rather, it will be more difficult to pull off.

It’s quite a shrewd move on the part of Italy’s expensive politicians, and it may even save the country a few bob.

F24 payment woes

I have a tax payment to make, only I cannot make this blasted payment; which can only be made via a home banking system now; because my home banking system is not working properly. This is because just about everyone is trying to make tax payments today, because of today’s deadline.  In case you did not know, the legendary F24 is a tax form which you use to donate money to the government.  This form used to be made of paper, but now it is virtual, and all can only be accessed via computer for normal mortals such as myself.

You would imagine in the 21st century that someone somewhere would have ensured that IT systems are bolstered to deal with such ‘deadline’ loads, wouldn’t you? Well, I would. But this is Italy, and ‘unpredictable’ is the best word to describe the way in which things work.

Yes, I could have made this payment before today, but why should I have? I could also have set up an automatic payment for today, but because I am not convinced that the system will work, on account of the unpredictability of things here, I did not. Bad move, I know.

It is not even possible to go directly to my bank and have them make the payment, which, before some far thinking, not, politico changed the rules, was possible, and useful in the circumstances I now find myself in.

Oh well, you live and you learn, and become frustrated.

I shall have a go at making this payment later, or give up and pay the darned fine.