The Italian Tax Regime of Outbound Dividends Distributed to Foreign Investment Funds: An Analysis from a European Perspective

This article analyses the new tax regime of Italian collective investment vehicles (CIVs) introduced by Law Decree No. 225/2010, converted into law with modifications by Law No. 10/2011 to evaluate its compatibility with European law. After describing the tax treatment of dividends paid to resident and non-resident CIVs, the authors analyse the most relevant judgments of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) dealing with the discrimination provisions regulating the tax treatment of dividends received by non-resident CIVs in order to evaluate the compatibility of the domestic law provisions with European principles, as interpreted by the ECJ. In the last part of the article, the authors examine whether such principles may be extended to third countries situations and if so, under what conditions a restriction of the fundamental freedoms granted by the Treaty may be denounced by CIVs established in non-Member States.