The Guardia di Finanza complains to the company 105 million euros of undeclared income and another 12 of VAT not paid between 2009 and 2013, but they do not seem to care that much. So they continue to work as if nothing had happened, despite the corporate triangulation between Italy, France and Ireland which – according to the investigators – serves to evade the tax authorities. Not only that, on the occasion of the Christmas holidays the company also launched the “Enchanting evasion” package, with all due respect to those who dispute tax crimes and unfair competition. It matters little. Around the Smartbox, now they are too busy with the offers of the boxes to be found under the tree, between stays in dream hotels and sessions in spas or wellness centers given to the sound of coupons. THE BOX SPEAKS IRISH
The militaries of the operational nucleus of Milan speak of a “hidden stable organization”. For them, the Italian company that sells Smartbox boxes, instead of limiting itself to providing auxiliary and preparatory services to its foreign subsidiary – in this case Irish, a country where companies pay much less taxes than we do -, behaves in full autonomy; signs contracts, manages the customer portfolio, ships orders and takes care of suppliers and sales networks. As if it were the real company. Too bad, however, that there is an Irish stamp on the invoices. THE CONTESTED CHAIN
The scheme is this: Smartbox & Co srl is the Italian company that has ended up in the sights of Finance, has been operating in Italy since 2007 in the activity of “supplying marketing support services to companies”, previously it was called Kivali Italia srl. It is a single-member company wholly owned by Smart & Co sarl, incorporated under French law. Both are subsidiaries of Smartbox Experience Ltd based in Ireland and controlled 99.9% by Irish Weekendesk and 0.1% by Dutch Smart & Co NV. On paper, therefore, Smartbox & Co srl should limit itself to assisting Smartbox Experience Ltd in the sale of the boxes. In reality, according to the indictment, the Italian company operates and almost exclusively,IRISH COVERINGS
The Irish one would be just a cover to escape from the clutches of the Italian tax authorities. The financiers find several clues in this regard: in the Milan office of Smartbox & Co srl, a stamp with the heading of the Irish company appears and “copious documentation” on relations with national customers who have the employees of the Italian company as their contact persons. Which participates “in a habitual, repeated and decisive manner, in the negotiation and conclusion of binding legal transactions with the foreign company”. And again: “The Italian company actually takes care of the entire process of designing, creating, promoting and selling Smartbox products, concluding contracts in the name of the foreign company and with the added cost of managing the warehouse”.CONTRACTS UNDER THE LENS OF FINANCE
Confirmation of this comes, in addition to correspondence via email, also from box sellers, from Esselunga to Auchan up to Coop Italia, who sign contracts in the name of Smartbox Experience Ltd but deal exclusively with Italian staff. An emblematic case is that of the Bergamo-based company that deals with the transport of the boxes: in November 2012 it issues an invoice to Smartbox & Co srl, its real interface from which it receives orders. Someone notices the error and on the document it is written: “NO! Invoice Ireland “. Said and done, quota reversed and turned over the Channel. THE WORDS OF THE FINANCIALS
Ultimately, the Finance Department believes that Smartbox & Co srl manages the entire corporate organization “without leaving any significant relationship to the foreign subsidiary”. The latter would only be used to pay taxes abroad, that is, to pay less. Too bad that, according to the Fiamme Gialle, those taxes concern activities carried out in Italy by an Italian company, and for this reason they should be paid here. AN EVENT CONSTELLED BY ANOMALIES
The tax audit begins on February 2, 2014. On August 7, the financiers write down the complaint report which will then end up on the tables of the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Revenue Agency. The whole operation, however, is kept in great secrecy, unlike many others, even less striking. Only at the beginning of November some articles appear on the web (in particular on Lettera43), up to the one in il Giornale on 7 November. The big press, however, is not interested in it, despite the heavy accusation of tax evasion against a well-known company. Those who take the affair to heart are Alessia Rotta, a Veronese deputy of the Democratic Party and new head of communication, who signs a question to the Minister of Economy, Pier Carlo Padoan, for clarification on the matter. In the meantime, the mobilization starts on the web.
Action immediately against the great powers, not only with Italian citizens. #smartboxpagaletasse ”asks the Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, the Ministry of Economy and the Revenue Agency, to intervene immediately to ascertain the facts. The protest also arrives on Facebook, the page “Multinationals, give back the money to the Italians: #smartboxpagaletasse” collects over 6 thousand subscriptions, but then – as reported by the Fatto Quotidiano – it is officially closed “for legal reasons”.
Meanwhile, Smartbox continues to sell its boxes, especially now close to Christmas, and the silence of the large distribution channels and large newspapers is deafening.
