Italian Financial Police Challenge Sculptor's Tax Residence

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

14 November 2008

The Monaco-based Colombian sculptor and painter Fernando Botero is under investigation by the Italian authorities for allegedly failing to pay tax on income earned in the country between 2003 and 2008.

According to Italian tax investigators, Botero, 76, who is famous for paintings of plump figures, owes EUR7m in tax. The prosecutor’s office of Lucca has already started an investigation of the case following an on-going probe by the Italian financial police which began in May 2008. The police believe that the crime warrants a custodial sentence rather than merely a fine.

Botero has kept a studio in Pietrasanta, Italy, for the past 30 years, but he argues that his primary residence is in Monaco and that he spends only two months per year in his Tuscan-based workshop and therefore is not liable for Italian taxes. An individual is deemed resident in Italy if they are registered at a census office and spend more than 183 days in the country in a year.

Botero vehemenantly denies the claims and has warned that the actions of the police will make Italy unappealing for other artists wishing to work there. Other high-profile artists using Italy as a place to work are also thought to be under investigation for tax evasion by the Italian authorities.

Recommended