With the Budget Law for 2018 (Law n. 205 of December 27, 2017), Italy amended the definition of the term “permanent establishment” set forth in article 162 of the Italian Tax Code.

The term permanent establishment now covers situations in which a foreign enterprise does not have a physical nexus with Italy, but it has a regular and continuous economic presence in the country; engages in ancillary activities that are an essential component of its core business, or operates through commissioners or other agents who do not enter into contracts in the name of the enterprise, but procure the conclusion of contracts that are eventually signed by the principal with no material modifications. Read More

As a result of the significant reduction of U.S. corporate income tax rates pursuant to the tax reform of the TCJA enacted on December 22, 2017, the Unites States now has a lower corporate tax rate than many of its trading partners, meaning that, in many instances, the profits of foreign owned or controlled-U.S. subsidiaries shall be taxed more favorably than the profits of their foreign parent companies or affiliates in their home jurisdictions. That creates an incentive for foreign companies to channel more profits through their U.S. subsidiaries, in order to benefit from lower U.S. income taxation compared to that applicable in the parent company’s home country. Read More