From company formation to the tax and compliance issues the Italy–Dubai axis triggers — and that few know how to manage.
Free zone or mainland? Which license, which emirate? Over 40 free zones — and most people pick one at random.
Accounting, corporate tax, VAT, Small Business Relief, banking, visas: full year-round management.
AIRE registration, real presence, substance, exit tax: a move that holds up under scrutiny.
Opening in Dubai is easy. Doing it without Italy challenging it, much less so.
A company in Dubai but run from Italy: the Tax Authority reclassifies it. I build real substance — office, management, people.
Controlled Foreign Companies rules can bring foreign profits back under Italian taxation. I analyze when it applies and how to structure around it.
AIRE registration alone isn't enough: family, property and interests in Italy still count. I prepare the file that proves where you actually live.
It depends on who your clients are and what you sell: a free zone works for international activity with no need to operate directly on the local UAE market, while mainland is for working with local clients and contracts. It isn't a standard choice — it needs to be analyzed case by case, before signing anything.
It varies a lot depending on the free zone, license type and emirate chosen: costs range from a few thousand dollars to much higher figures, and timing from a few days to several weeks once documentation is ready. The right figure can only be calculated once the correct structure has been defined, not before.
No. If effective management stays in Italy, the Tax Authority can challenge it as a foreign-registered shell company or contest tax residency, taxing everything as if the company were Italian. The UAE company needs to be built together with the tax strategy, not separately from it.
For the company formation alone, no. But if the goal is also to move your tax residency, real substance is required — presence, management, daily life in Dubai — otherwise the structure won't hold up under scrutiny.