4.

Article 1 of Legge n. 228 — Disposizioni per la formazione del bilancio annuale e pluriennale dello Stato (Legge di stabilità 2013) (Law No 228 on the provisions for the formation of the annual and multiannual State budget (Stability Law 2013)), of 24 December 2012 (GURI No 302, of 29 December 2012, ordinary supplement No 212, p. 1) (‘Law No 228/2012’), provides, in paragraphs 491, 492, 494 and 495: ‘491. The transfer of ownership of shares and other participating financial instruments referred to in Article 2346(6) of the [Italian] Civil Code, issued by companies resident in the territory of the State, as well as securities representing such instruments, regardless of the State of residence of the issuing entity, shall be subject to a financial transaction tax at the rate of 0.2% of the transaction value. The transfer of ownership of shares resulting from the conversion of bonds is also subject to the above tax. … The value of the transaction is defined as the net balance of daily transactions relating to the same financial instrument and concluded on the same business day by a single entity, i.e., the consideration obtained. The tax is due irrespective of the place of conclusion of the transaction and the State of residence of the contracting parties. The tax rate is reduced by half for transfers that take place on regulated markets and multilateral trading facilities. Excluded from the tax are the issue and cancellation of the abovementioned shares and financial instruments, as well as the conversion into newly created shares and the temporary transfer of securities operations referred to in Article 2(10) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1287/2006 of 10 August 2006. The tax also excludes transfers of ownership of shares traded on regulated markets or multilateral trading facilities, which are issued by companies whose average market capitalisation in November of the year preceding the year in which the transfer of ownership takes place is less than EUR 500 million. 492. Transactions involving derivative financial instruments provided for in Article 1(3) of Legislative Decree No 58 of 24 February 1998, as amended, which mainly have as their underlying instrument one or more of the financial instruments provided for in paragraph 491, or the value of which depends essentially on one or more of the financial instruments provided for in the same paragraph, and transactions in securities provided for in Article 1(1bis)(c) and (d), of the same legislative decree, allowing the purchase or sale mainly of one or more financial instruments referred to in paragraph 491 or involving a cash payment determined mainly in relation to one or more financial instruments referred to in the preceding paragraph, including warrants, hedged warrants and certificates, shall be subject, at the time of conclusion, to a fixed tax, determined according to the type of instrument and the value of the contract, in accordance with Table 3 annexed to this Law. The tax is due irrespective of the place of conclusion of the transaction and the State of residence of the contracting parties. In the event that the transactions referred to in the first sentence also provide, as a method of settlement, for the transfer of shares or other participating financial instruments, the transfer of the right of ownership of such financial instruments, which occurs at the time of settlement, shall be subject to tax in accordance with the terms and to the extent provided for in paragraph 491. … … 494. The tax provided for in paragraph 491 shall be payable by the transferee; that provided for in paragraph 492 shall be payable to the extent established by each of the counterparties to the transactions. The tax provided for in paragraphs 491 and 492 does not apply to entities that interpose themselves in the same transactions. In the case of a transfer of ownership of shares and financial instruments provided for in paragraph 491, as well as for transactions in financial instruments provided for in paragraph 492, the tax shall be paid by banks, trust companies and investment firms authorised to provide investment services and activities to the public on a professional basis … and by other entities involved in the execution of the above transactions, including non-resident intermediaries. Where several of the entities indicated in the third sentence are involved in the execution of the transaction, the tax shall be paid by the entity which receives the execution order directly from the purchaser or the final counterparty. In other cases, the tax is paid by the taxpayer. Non-resident intermediaries and other entities involved in the transaction may appoint a tax representative … who is responsible, on the same terms and with the same responsibilities as the non-resident entity, for the obligations related to the transactions referred to in the preceding paragraphs. … 495. Transactions carried out on the Italian financial market are subject to a tax on high-frequency negotiations relating to the financial instruments provided for in paragraphs 491 and 492 …’