The Italian Supreme Court gave its decision on 17 January 2014 in case No. 1811 concerning the issue of whether the Maltese company should be considered resident in Italy for tax purposes. The case particularly concerned the provision that a company is resident in Italy if the main business purpose is in Italy for the main part of the fiscal year.

Under article 73(3) of Presidential Decree No. 917 of 22 December 1986, a company is considered resident in Italy if its registered office, place of effective management or main business purpose is in Italy for the greater part of the fiscal year.

At a previous stage of the process the lower court recognized that the company had its registered office and place of effective management in Malta, where the company managed the gaming platform. However, it held that the Maltese company should be considered resident in Italy based on the main business purpose criterion, because it operated in the Italian market, also by virtue of a specific license issued by the Italian state.

Following this decision the Maltese company appealed and the Italian Supreme Court clarified that, under Italian law, the main business purpose is the purpose indicated in the articles of incorporation. If these are not in the form of a notary deed or private deed with notarized signatures, the main business purpose is determined by the actual activity of the company. The Supreme Court held that, in this case, the license constituted only a formal requirement to conduct online gaming activities in Italy and the main business purpose of the Maltese company was the gaming platform management, which was conducted in Malta. Therefore, the Maltese company should not be considered resident in Italy for tax purposes.