References

Romanin, Fulvio L'IVA funesta: come aprire una partita IVA e sopravvivere per raccontarlo BookID 153302642 ISBN 9788851157548 (see LibraryThing.com card)

Description (from Amazon)

---

My review: 3.5/5

I know- it is somewhat quixotic to review in English a book about setting up a VAT in Italy.

But since I re-registered in Italy (Piedmont), earlier this decade, I saw that what I read over a decade ago within official data from ISTAT&Co. is true: look around you in any large Italian town, and you will see that first- and second-generation immigrants create new businesses at a rate higher than those who claim to have been Italians since the Stone Age.

So, this review will be in English- as most of those that I posted before on LibraryThing.

Anyway, the short part of the review is: it is worth reading, worth your time, and will allow you to laugh at mistakes that, if you already had a VAT registration in Italy, you already know.

And for the price, cheaper than most common mistakes that this book will help you avoid (and I am not referring to tax law mistakes: for those, your accountant can filter your own ""creative accounting"" instincts).

Background information: why a book such as this one (not technical, but a collection of signposts through the journey of a VAT registration and use) is useful?

Because in Italy laws are constantly changing- and this was a reason why few years ago I said that I would rather work as an employee on short-term contracts (employed consultant), also if it meant having to leave behind a large part of what was billed to the customer, than spend time doing what I did in the 1990s.

Back then, I devoted at least half a day a week (and large amount of money in subscriptions) just to update on tax law (I was an indipendent contractor, but working with multiple customers and countries- as complex as a small multinational consulting company, but obviously accountants could not charge me as much as they would charge one of the ""mini-multinationals"" that are now becoming common in Italy).

The interesting part of the book is that it doesn't stop at what is needed to set-up a VAT registration, but outlines the journey across time- from inception, to growth, to (something almost unusual in Italy, unfortunately) scaling up.

Personally I will add also a book on the more ""technical"" side (""gestione partita iva contabilità semplificata"", to be precise), as having an accountant does not imply (in my view) making the accountant's life more miserable than it needs to be, by doing silly things that could be avoided.

Therefore, I concur with the author's postface: de facto, he suggested a short course that should be provided by the State- just an introduction, but delivered through the schooling system.

Actually, if I am not wrong, a similar scheme already exists in Sweden since decades ago (teaching how to fill your own tax return), and, anyway, it has been introduced in Italian schools for other reasons (e.g. driving a motorbike, I think).

Nonetheless, at least a mandatory training course when applying for a new VAT or to register a new company could be useful.

Outline material: No outline material yet shared