Labour tax advice

This is the person whom the tax law completely substitutes the taxable person in relations with the tax authorities. The role of the withholding agent is essentially instrumental since, on the one hand, it tends to facilitate tax collection by the Treasury (especially when there any many withholding agents), and on the other, it renders tax collection more secure because the withholding agent, who is required to actually pay the tax, as a rule, has (unlike the substituted tax payer) no interest in tax evasion.

The role of the withholding agent is linked to the need to facilitate control over the recipients of certain categories of income with the withholding tax system.

The law identifies a withholding agent as the person who is obliged to pay to another person the sums that constitute the prerequisite for the tax; in essence, the withholding agent must actually withhold part of the sums that it should pay to the substituted person on the basis of the relationship it has with the latter, for example:

• Employer for employment income;
• Intermediary for capital income.

The 730/4 form is the document certifying the accounting result of the tax returns (form 730).

Following the electronic transmission of the tax return, the Italian Tax Agency makes the 730/4 form available to the withholding agents, or the intermediaries appointed by them.

Following receipt of the 730/4 form, the withholding agents carry out the adjustment operations on the basis of the data contained in their employees’ 730-4 forms.