Through this recent reply, people that freely choose to work in Italy while also doing occasional work in a foreign country are also eligible for the optional tax regime. This specific ruling concerns a returning psychiatrist working for an American clinic specializing in telepsychiatry, who also offers his service as an independent psychiatrist on American soil for a period of time shorter than 15 days per year, in order not to lose his status as an american hospital doctor.
Special regime for returning workers
The paragraph 7.5 from the circular n 33/E issued on december 28th 2020 specifies that the article that disciplines this special regime does not state that the tax payer must be working for an Italian company in order for the worker to benefit from the optional regime (article n.16 from the legislative decree n 145 issued in 2015, modified by the article 5 from the law n.34 issued in 2019).
The same circular is very important because it also abolishes the rule according to which the tax payer can only benefit from the regime if they do not exceed the 3 months limit between the relocation and the initiation of the new activity.
Taxation of casual work done abroad
As far as the revenues from the occasional work done in the United States are concerned, they are subjected to the Italian tax regime in case the tax payer does not have a permanent residence there. This means that the Revenue Agency does not owe the worker any credit to prevent double taxation, as it is stated in the article n.23 from the constitution, since his entire income is taxed in Italy.
What if the employer changes?
According to article 16 of the legislative decree n.145, the special regime is applicable only if the tax payer resides in Italy for at least 2 years. This means that even if the contract with the first company is terminated before the 2 years period, the subject is still able to benefit from the regime if they do not move their residence out of the country.