11460 - Tax and Labour Law

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student is familiar with the fundamental aspects of the Italian tax system, in particular: - the regulation of the main taxes concerning employees, self-employment and small/medium-sized enterprises; - the basic tax principles and rules on the personnel management, taxpayer compliance and administrative controls; - the essential rules and concepts in the field of tax litigation. The skills acquired enable the student to - autonomously identify the rules applicable to concrete cases; - identify and exploit administrative practice and case law that may be relevant; - argue interpretative and applicative solutions to basic legal issues of tax law.

Course contents

The course aims to provide a general understanding of the fundamental concepts and institutions of the tax system. In particular, it examines the main forms of taxation and the main tax obligations affecting workers and small and medium-sized enterprises, and also explores the issue of the so-called “tax cost of labor.”

It provides knowledge of the main features of personal and corporate income taxation. To this end, particular attention will be paid to: income from employment and self-employment, including aspects related to the international mobility of workers; taxation of pensions and supplementary and complementary forms of social security; income from small and medium-sized enterprises (sole proprietorships, small businesses, partnerships, and closely held corporations) and the tax treatment of business costs related to employment and similar activities.

Other taxes affecting economic operators and businesses will then be dealt with in general terms, in particular value added tax (VAT).

The structure and implementation of all the taxes covered during the course will be examined in detail. Tax procedures, such as the filing of tax returns, audits, tax investigations and checks, tax assessment and collection, will be explained in class, together with an analysis of the substantive rules governing the taxes to which they refer, in order not only to make the discussion of these topics more understandable but also to highlight the practical and operational problems that labor consultants may face.

In view of the skills required of a labor consultant, the essential characteristics of tax appeals and litigation before the tax courts will also be briefly covered in class.

Main topics of the course

1. Introduction to the course: taxation and taxed services. Tax, duty, and contribution. Constitutional principles in taxation.

2. Social security taxes and contributions. The so-called parafiscal charges.

3. Tax and tax liability

3.1. Sources, nature, structure, and application.

3.2. General principles relating to the fulfillment of tax obligations in the Taxpayers' Charter.

3.3. Taxpayers. The figures of the withholding agent and the tax representative. Economic transfer. Legal and de facto taxpayers.

4. Personal income tax (IRPEF).

4.1. Introduction and general aspects.

4.2. Concept of income and categories of income.

4.3. Structure and determination of IRPEF.

4.4. Principles of personality and progressivity.

4.5. Tax residence and income generation in transnational contexts.

4.6. Tax returns: structure and content

5. IRPEF taxation of employment

5.1. Income from employment. Concept, characteristics, and determination.

5.2. Income similar to that from employment.

5.3. Methods of taxation of income from employment. Withholding taxes and tax obligations of the employer as a withholding agent. Ordinary, substitute, and separate taxation.

5.4. Taxation of severance pay.

5.5. Taxation of pensions and supplementary pension schemes.

6. IRPEF taxation of self-employment.

6.1. Income from self-employment and similar income.

6.2. Similarities and differences between the taxation of income from self-employment, coordinated and continuous collaboration, and business activities.

6.3. The so-called flat-rate scheme and the “flat tax.”

7. International mobility of workers

7.1. Taxation of income from self-employment and employment abroad and taxation of non-residents.

8. Business taxation.

8.1. Taxation of business income for individuals (IRPEF) and corporations (IRES). The relationship between the taxation of companies and shareholders.

8.2. General principles for determining business income: derivation, allocation in the financial statements, relevance, accrual.

8.3. The main positive and negative components of income.

8.4. Labor costs in determining business income.

8.5. Taxation of small business income.

8.6. Taxation of income from partnerships and closely held corporations (transparency regime).

8.7. Value added tax (VAT). General taxation on consumption and taxation of business turnover.

8.8. Key features of VAT.

8.9. Classification of VAT transactions.

8.10. Invoicing and recording of transactions.

8.11. The principle of neutrality. Rights of recourse and deduction.

8.12. Regional tax on productive activities (IRAP) (outline).

9. Income tax returns and VAT.

9.1. Main forms and procedures for filing returns. Settlement and payment. Obligations of the taxpayer and the withholding agent.

9.2. Management of tax returns and reporting obligations by taxpayers. Amendability of tax returns

9.3. Voluntary disclosure in relation to tax returns and payments.

9.4. The pre-filled tax return system

10. Interpretation and rulings.

10.1 Interpretation and guidance from the tax authorities. The principle of protection of good faith and legitimate expectations. Circulars.

10.2. Ordinary tax rulings

10.3. Other tax rulings: disapplication, probative, anti-abuse, special.

11. Tax return audits.

11.1 Document-based, automated, and formal audits.

11.2. Substantive checks and administrative tax investigations.

11.3. Main investigative powers and means of investigation.

11.4. Access, inspections, and tax audits.

11.5. The Report on Findings (PVC).

12. Tax assessment and other tax acts and procedures.

12.1. Assessment methods (analytical/synthetic). Tax presumptions and standardized or statistical control indices (synthetic tax reliability indices, income meter).

12.2. Types of assessment (global/partial, supplementary, corrective/ex officio, etc.).

12.3. Structure, form, content, and regime of the assessment act.

12.4. Assessment and penalties.

12.5 Acquiescence, assessment with acceptance, and other forms of dispute resolution. Tax self-defense.

12.6 Collection activities. Activities of the collection agent. The role and payment notice. Tax assessment.

12.7. Tax refunds.

12.8. Tax offenses and penalties: general principles.

13. Overview of taxpayer defense in tax proceedings

13.1. Tax proceedings: overview.

13.2. Special tax jurisdiction and tax courts.

13.3. Tax appeals. Actions available in court.

13.4. Defects and appealability of tax acts.

13.5. The role of the judge and the parties in the first instance proceedings.

13.6. Rules of evidence.

Readings/Bibliography

For the exam, students must study:

- the handouts prepared by the professor on certain topics covered in class, which will be published during the course on the online teaching materials website virtuale.unibo.it. The online handouts constitute a monographic course on the taxation of income from employment and pensions, income from self-employment, and the general principles of SME taxation.

- in addition, one of the following Tax Law Textbooks:

A.CARINCI-T.TASSANI, Manuale di Diritto tributario, Giappichelli, latest edition available

or

CONTRINO, DELLA VALLE, MARCHESELLI, MARELLO (et al.), Fondamenti di Diritto tributario, Wolters Kluwer-CEDAM, latest edition available

Given the very recent reform of the tax system, which is still ongoing, it is necessary to always adopt the most recent edition of the chosen textbook available on the market and, in any case, never earlier than the 2024 editions.

Other textbooks may be agreed upon with the instructor, but in any case, they must be available in editions published from mid-2024 onwards.

NB: The parts of the textbooks to be studied and those to be read only will be indicated at the beginning of the lessons on the online teaching materials website https://virtuale.unibo.it

- In view of the frequent changes in tax legislation and the tax reform currently underway, it is also necessary to consult the main tax legislation cited in the textbooks, in addition to studying them, in the version currently in force. It is recommended to search for and consult the legislation directly in public databases (such as www.normattiva.it) or to consult an updated tax code (e.g., Codice ragionato breve di Diritto tributario, edited by A. Carinci-T. Tassani, Giappichelli, Turin, latest edition available on the market).

- Finally, it is strongly recommended that students read/study the other teaching materials used in class and made available to students on the website virtuale.unibo.it (slides, judgments or case studies, in-depth information sheets, etc.).

NB: the exam program and study texts are the same for ERASMUS students.

 

Teaching methods

The course consists of lectures from September to December.

Attendance at lectures is not compulsory and is accrued ex officio by students. However, attendance it is highly recommended, both to better learn the notions and technical terminology that characterise the subject and to be better updated on the tax legislation under reform.
Lessons will be held in face-to-face mode.

The study of the manuals and handouts and of the other teaching materials, indicated in the "Texts/Bibliography" section, corresponds to the course programme.

Assessment methods

Registration for examinations. Students must only use the Almaesami web platform. Registration closes strictly two days before the date of the exam. Already enrolled students who no longer wish to sit the examination must cancel within the same deadline. An enrolled student who no longer wishes to take the examination, but has not cancelled in good time, must present himself on the day of the roll call to register his withdrawal. A student who, due to an impediment occurring after the deadline for unsubscribing from the list, is unable to appear for the examination, must inform the lecturer by the starting time of the examination (also by e-mail).

Conduct of examinations. The examination may be organised in several consecutive daily rounds, depending on the number of students enrolled. Students registered for the examination must all present themselves on the first day of the roll call. Should the number of those present exceed the maximum number of students that can be examined by the Board on the first day, the surplus students will be examined, according to the order in which they appear on the examination list, on subsequent days, which will be communicated to those present by the Board.

The profit examination is conducted in oral and discursive form.

Conduct of the colloquium. During the colloquium, the Board of Examiners asks the candidates questions (usually 3-4), of both a theoretical and practical nature, based on the notions and knowledge acquired through attending lectures and critically reading the study texts and teaching materials. The questions in the oral interview cover the topics indicated in the 'Programme and Contents' section. In order to prepare for the exam, it is required to study the readings and texts indicated in the "Texts/Bibliography" section and to consult the main legislation referred to in the texts and during the lectures. Amongst other things, the questions aim to check whether the student has learnt the notions relating to the legal institutes studied, whether he/she is able to use correct legal reasoning to explain the main issues relating to the topics studied, whether he/she has acquired the argumentation skills necessary for the interpretation of the rules and for the analysis and solution of legal problems, and whether he/she is able to apply the knowledge acquired in a critical manner, also referring to the content of the rules, case law and doctrine.

The assessment of the examination will be carried out taking into account:
- the knowledge of institutional profiles;
- the ability to make connections between the different parts of the programme;
- the articulation, accuracy and completeness of the exposition;
-the degree of learning and the ability to use the notions and technical terminology characterising the subject;
-the ability to frame the institutes, topics and problems proposed in a systematic manner, also taking into account the jurisprudential and doctrinal orientations
-the ability to develop adequate analyses of the proposed issues and critical arguments.

By way of example, the final mark will be based on the following criteria:

• sufficient or slightly above sufficient knowledge of the topics covered, poor critical thinking skills, difficulty in using technical legal language → 18-20
• fair knowledge of the topics covered, sufficient critical thinking skills, acceptable use of technical legal language → 21-23
• fair or fairly good preparation on the topics covered, fair critical thinking skills, fair use of technical legal language → 24-26
• good or more than good preparation on the topics covered, good critical thinking skills, good mastery of technical legal language → 27-28
• substantially comprehensive preparation on the topics covered, good critical skills, very good mastery of technical legal language → 29
• exhaustive preparation on the topics covered, excellent critical skills, full and conscious mastery of technical-legal language → 30
• absolutely exhaustive preparation on the topics covered, excellent critical skills, excellent and total mastery of technical-legal language → 30L

Students taking the course for the first time in the academic year 2025/2026 will be able to take the examination from the 1st examination session in January 2026.

In order for the thesis to be awarded, it is necessary to have already successfully taken the examination. The thesis, if any, is awarded by the course lecturer, following the necessary interview with the student, according to an allocation calendar that will be communicated during the year and depending on the places available.

Teaching tools

The e-learning platform virtuale.unibo.it will be used to make available to students:

• handouts, readings and other teaching materials to support exam preparation, such as any further reading, slides, case studies presented and discussed in the classroom during lectures;
• optional tools to support the verification of learning on certain topics or parts of the program (self-assessment questionnaires; verification tests on understanding the key concepts).

Students with SLDs or temporary or permanent disabilities are advised to contact the University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it) in due time. The office will propose any adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance for approval by the instructor, who will assess their appropriateness in relation to the course objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Andrea Mondini