No. 167 - The new framework for the taxation of venture capital in Italy

This paper examines the current tax policy on venture capital (VC) in Italy, and compares it with the tax incentives adopted by France, Germany, Spain and the UK. The authors analyze ongoing European initiatives to remove tax obstacles to VC in Europe. Focusing on the taxation of VC funds, they also assess whether the requirements for the new Italian tax incentives are consistent with the uniform regulatory standards designated by the 2011 proposal for an EU Regulation on European VC Funds. Finally, in a quantitative analysis, the tax burden on VC investments in Italy is compared with that in other European countries. The results show that the most favourable schemes are in the UK and in France; the effects of the new Italian VC tax incentives are in line with the British and the French schemes. As regards the design of tax incentives, the authors found that as the duration of investment increases, upfront incentives become less effective than capital gains exemptions.