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Among the country's major companies by sector are: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, CNH
Industrial, Ducati, Piaggio (motor vehicles); Pirelli (tyre manufacturing); Enel, Edison,
A2A, Terna (energy); Eni (petrochemicals); Candy, Indesit, De'Longhi (home appliances);
Finmeccanica, Alenia Aermacchi, AgustaWestland, Oto Melara (defence); Avio,
Telespazio (space); Beretta, Benelli (firearms); Armani, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci,
Benetton, Diesel, Prada, Luxottica, YOOX (fashion); Ferrero, Barilla, Autogrill, Perfetti
Van Melle, Campari, Parmalat (food&beverages); Techint, Lucchini, Gruppo Riva, Danieli
(steel); Prysmian, Salini Impregilo, Italcementi, Buzzi Unicem, Astaldi (construction);
STMicroelectronics (electronics); Telecom Italia, Mediaset (communications);
Assicurazioni Generali, Unipol (insurance); UniCredit, Intesa Sanpaolo (banking); Ferrari,
Maserati, Lamborghini (luxury vehicles); Fincantieri, Ferretti, Azimut (shipbuilding).
Italian Legal System
The Italian judicial system is based on civil law. The function of a judge, as well as of
that of a public prosecutor, is exercised by members of the judiciary. The administrative
function is carried out by the Ministry of Justice.
Aside from the legal system, influence of EU regulation and the language, other key
differences with the Israeli legal and business environment include the fact that Italy
is more private equity driven and less venture capital driven than Israel. Also, there is a
greater focus on traditional industrial businesses and less focus on technology and a
market place where most companies are family–owned, small and mid-cap size.
Recent Developments in Italian Taxation Legislation
The main recent developments in terms of tax reform in Italy, are:
• Starting from fiscal year (FY) 2017 the standard corporate income tax (IRES) rate
will be reduced from 27.5% to 24%.
• Starting from 15 October 2015 to 31 December 2016, an additional IRES
depreciation is granted for new investments on tangible assets. In particular the
purchase cost is increased by 40%, bringing the taxable basis of the asset to 140%.
• As from FY 2016, expenses for transactions with tax havens are fully deductible and
not subject to disclosure in the tax return. In addition in the CFC rules the reference
to black list countries has been repealed.
• Introduction of provisions regarding the Italian tax ruling procedures, including a
regime of “Ruling on new investments” for those enterprises which intend to make
investments in Italy.
• As of 2015, losses on bad debts have been extended to the restructuring process
and to foreign procedures.
• Starting from FY 2015, costs related to employees with open-ended contracts are
fully deductible from the IRAP taxable base.
Italian-Israeli trade stands at approximately US$ 4 billion, out of which US$
790 million (in 2015) were Israeli exports to Italy (machines and accessories,
plastic and rubber products, metal, industrial monitoring equipment, minerals,
telecommunications, food and beverage) andUS$ 3.1 billionwere Italian imports
to Israel (mainly in the realm of machines, automotive, chemicals and metals).