A newsletter prepared by Studio Legale Bernascone & Soci in association with Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. (formerly an office of Graham & James LLP)
Tax Register For Accountholders' Financial Data ("Tax Register"). On August 4, 2000, a new regulation ("The Regulation") on the administrative treatment of accountholders' financial data which are held by banks, national post, fiduciaries and other financial intermediaries has been passed by means of an Inter-Ministerial Decree (Ministers of Finance and Treasury). The Regulation which is still in the process of being published on the Italian Official Gazette requires the above mentioned entities to provide the newly established Tax Register with accountholders' data in order to ease Tax Authority's assessment procedures. The process for Tax Officers to obtain relevant financial data from the Tax Register is subject to appropriate authorization granted by the Tax Authority. Information may be requested for any taxpayer, whether individuals or entities, providing that the they have been duly informed of the commencement of the specific personal investigation.
The Regulation provides that "financial data" means:
- Accounts of any given amount;
- Nominal or bearer deposits whether in cash or in securities of any given amount
- Continuously operated dealings institutionally managed by the financial intermediary on the behalf of its clients
However, the above concept must not include:
- Deposit Certificates
- Management of lock-boxes, transitory bank accounts and closed deposits
Source: Inter-Ministerial Decree of August 4, 2000 can be found in the financial newspaper ItaliaOggi of October 2, 2000 from page 3 to 5.
New Copyright Law. The newly enacted law no. 248/2000 entered into force on September 19, 2000 and introduced certain new provisions which:
- allow private photocopying from printed or anyway published books or articles, up to 15% of the total pages of the volume or journal where the book or article appears;
- reform the functions and structure of the central agency for the collection of copyrights duties (SIAE – Società Italiana Autori ed Editori);
- repress piracy in the audio visual industry;
- reform civil procedural and substantive rules concerning interim and urgency remedies against copyright violations;
- make criminal punishment of serious copyright violations more severe.
Source: Law n.248 of August 18, 2000 can be found under
The contents of this publication are not intended to provide legal advice that pertains to specific circumstances, for which you should consult appropriate counsel.
