Expo Milano 2015 Tax Breaks Announced
In advance of the next Universal Exposition, which will be held from May 1 to October 31, 2015, in Milan, the Italian Revenue Agency has issued details of favorable tax treatment for Expo Milano 2015 participants.
Within an agreement signed between Italy and the Bureau International des Expositions, which is running the Expo, the various participants in the event are divided into two categories – “official participants” (countries and international intergovernmental organizations); and “non-official participants” (public agencies, international agencies, business associations, and companies).
Both official and non-official participants will be exempt from direct taxes (individual and corporate income tax, additional individual income tax, and the regional tax on productive activity) on their income derived in the exhibition from their institutional and non-commercial activities.
In addition, on the condition that they are neither non-resident in Italy nor Italian citizens, individuals employed by both types of participants in the Expo will also be exempted from Italian direct taxation.
However, both official and non-official participants will have to pay direct taxes on any commercial activity they carry on at the exhibition – for example, the sale of products or catering, for which they impose a charge.
On the other hand, an exemption from value added tax (VAT) for the purchases of goods and services, and imports of goods related to their institutional activities, of a “significant amount” – that is, of over EUR300 (USD400) – is only available for official participants. Both official and non-official participants will have to fulfill their VAT obligations for commercial activities in their exhibition space.
All participants will also be exempt from local taxes, such as property and service taxes, as well as from registration and stamp duties, for the entire duration of the event, for their institutional and non-commercial activities.
In general, the Agency reiterated that the Expo is a non-commercial event, and reminded all participants that they may only carry on commercial activities in a limited area of up to 20 percent of their exhibition space. It stressed that those activities may not be granted any fiscal exemption, either from income tax or for VAT purposes.
Source: tax-news
