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Italy

2016

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Bans and limits on private income

Public funding

Regulations of spending

Reporting, oversight and sanctions

Question	Value
1. Is there a ban on donations from foreign interests to political parties?	Code No Comment donations from foreign interests to political parties are allowed; they are regulated as other kinds of donations.
2. Is there a ban on donations from foreign interests to candidates?	Code No Comment .
3. Is there a ban on corporate donations to political parties?	Code No Comment Donations form legal persons are not banned; each legal persons however cannot exceed the amount of 100.000 ? per year.
4. Is there a ban on corporate donations to candidates?	Code No Comment Corporate donations are allowed up to a certain limits. The 2014 law also allows corporations to be eligible for tax deduction up to 26 per cent on the donations made in favor of political parties.
5. Is there a ban on donations from Trade Unions to political parties?	Code No Comment .
6. Is there a ban on donations from Trade Unions to candidates?	Code No Comment .
7. Is there a ban on anonymous donations to political parties?	Code Yes, above certain threshold Comment The law allows anonymous donations of up to EUR 5,000 per year for a political party.
8. Is there a ban on anonymous donations to candidates?	Code Yes, above certain threshold Comment The law allows anonymous donations of up to EUR 5,000 for candidates.
9. Is there a ban on donations from corporations with government contracts to political parties?	Code No Source P 8, 'donations from companies that are publicly held or have a public sharing of greater than 20% are forbidden (Article 7, Law 195/1974);' (Source: GRECO (2012) Evaluation Report on Italy, Transparency of Political Party Funding (Theme II). Greco Third Evaluation Report, Strasbourg 23 March 2012) '20b: In law, there are limits on corporate donations to political parties.Score: NoComments:According to Law 51/2006 private contributions to political parties lower than Euro 50,000 (US$71,539) are not subject to declaration.Public companies are not allowed to finance political parties.''21a: ...Following some serious scandals, Law 195/74, art. 7, forbade any form of contribution to political parties or parliamentary groups from public administrations; public or private companies with public holdings of 20 percent or controlled; and private companies, with the exception of contributions adopted by the managing bodies and included in the budget.' (Source: Global Integrity Report (2010) Scorecard: Italy 2010. Available at http://www.globalintegrity.org/report/Italy/2010/scorecard) Art 7, 'Sono vietati i finanziamenti o i contributi, sotto qualsiasi forma e in qualsiasi modo erogati, daparte di organi della pubblica amministrazione di enti pubblici, di societ? con partecipazione dicapitale pubblico superiore al 20 per cento o di societ? controllate da queste ultime, ferma restandola loro natura privatistica, a favore di partiti o loro articolazioni politico-organizzative e di gruppiparlamentari.Sono vietati altres? i finanziamenti o i contributi sotto qualsiasi forma diretta o indiretta, da parte disociet? non comprese tra quelle previste nel comma precedente in favore di partiti o loroarticolazioni politico-organizzative o gruppi parlamentari, salvo che tali finanziamenti o contributisiano stati deliberati dall'organo sociale competente e regolarmente iscritti in bilancio e sempre chenon siano comunque vietati dalla legge...' (Source: Legge 2 maggio 1974, n. 195 ?Contributo dello Stato al finanziamento dei partiti politici?)
10. Is there a ban on donations from corporations with government contracts to candidates?	Code No Source Art 7, 'Sono vietati i finanziamenti o i contributi, sotto qualsiasi forma e in qualsiasi modo erogati, da parte di organi della pubblica amministrazione di enti pubblici, di societ? con partecipazione di capitale pubblico superiore al 20 per cento o di societ? controllate da queste ultime, ferma restando la loro natura privatistica, a favore di partiti o loro articolazioni politico-organizzative e di gruppi parlamentari. Sono vietati altres? i finanziamenti o i contributi sotto qualsiasi forma diretta o indiretta, da parte di societ? non comprese tra quelle previste nel comma precedente in favore di partiti o loro articolazioni politico-organizzative o gruppi parlamentari, salvo che tali finanziamenti o contributi siano stati deliberati dall'organo sociale competente e regolarmente iscritti in bilancio e sempre che non siano comunque vietati dalla legge...' (Source: Legge 2 maggio 1974, n. 195 ?Contributo dello Stato al finanziamento dei partiti politici?)
11. Is there a ban on donations from corporations with partial government ownership to political parties?	Code Yes Source P 8, 'donations from companies that are publicly held or have a public sharing of greater than 20% are forbidden (Article 7, Law 195/1974);' (Source: GRECO (2012) Evaluation Report on Italy, Transparency of Political Party Funding (Theme II). Greco Third Evaluation Report, Strasbourg 23 March 2012) '20b: In law, there are limits on corporate donations to political parties.Score: NoComments:According to Law 51/2006 private contributions to political parties lower than Euro 50,000 (US$71,539) are not subject to declaration.Public companies are not allowed to finance political parties.''21a: ...Following some serious scandals, Law 195/74, art. 7, forbade any form of contribution to political parties or parliamentary groups from public administrations; public or private companies with public holdings of 20 percent or controlled; and private companies, with the exception of contributions adopted by the managing bodies and included in the budget.' (Source: Global Integrity Report (2010) Scorecard: Italy 2010. Available at http://www.globalintegrity.org/report/Italy/2010/scorecard) Art 7, 'Sono vietati i finanziamenti o i contributi, sotto qualsiasi forma e in qualsiasi modo erogati, daparte di organi della pubblica amministrazione di enti pubblici, di societ? con partecipazione dicapitale pubblico superiore al 20 per cento o di societ? controllate da queste ultime, ferma restandola loro natura privatistica, a favore di partiti o loro articolazioni politico-organizzative e di gruppiparlamentari.Sono vietati altres? i finanziamenti o i contributi sotto qualsiasi forma diretta o indiretta, da parte disociet? non comprese tra quelle previste nel comma precedente in favore di partiti o loroarticolazioni politico-organizzative o gruppi parlamentari, salvo che tali finanziamenti o contributisiano stati deliberati dall'organo sociale competente e regolarmente iscritti in bilancio e sempre chenon siano comunque vietati dalla legge...' (Source: Legge 2 maggio 1974, n. 195 ?Contributo dello Stato al finanziamento dei partiti politici?)
12. Is there a ban on donations from corporations with partial government ownership to candidates?	Code Yes Source Art 7, 'Sono vietati i finanziamenti o i contributi, sotto qualsiasi forma e in qualsiasi modo erogati, da parte di organi della pubblica amministrazione di enti pubblici, di societ? con partecipazione di capitale pubblico superiore al 20 per cento o di societ? controllate da queste ultime, ferma restando la loro natura privatistica, a favore di partiti o loro articolazioni politico-organizzative e di gruppi parlamentari. Sono vietati altres? i finanziamenti o i contributi sotto qualsiasi forma diretta o indiretta, da parte di societ? non comprese tra quelle previste nel comma precedente in favore di partiti o loro articolazioni politico-organizzative o gruppi parlamentari, salvo che tali finanziamenti o contributi siano stati deliberati dall'organo sociale competente e regolarmente iscritti in bilancio e sempre che non siano comunque vietati dalla legge...' (Source: Legge 2 maggio 1974, n. 195 ?Contributo dello Stato al finanziamento dei partiti politici?)
13. Is there a ban on the use of state resources in favour or against a political party or candidate?	Code Yes Comment Public media must be neutral.
14. Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party during a non-election specific period?	Code Yes, for both natural and legal persons Comment Same limit applies for legal and natural persons Source 'New legislation introduced a limit on donations to political parties. This is the first such limit applied in Italy. Under article 7 of law 13/2014, ?Physical persons? donations in favour of a single political party shall not exceed, in cash or with goods or services of any kind or form, [?.],a value of 100,000 euros [136,137 USD] yearly. (..) New legislation introduced a limit on corporate donations to political parties. This is the first such limit applied in Italy. Under article 7 of the law 13/2014, ?Legal persons? donations in favour of a single political party shall not exceed, in cash or with goods or services of any kind or form, [?.],a value of 100,000 euros [136,137 USD] yearly.? ? (Source: Money, Politics &Transparency: Italy. 2016. Available at: http://data.moneypoliticstransparency.org/countries/IT/)
15. If there is a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party during a non-election specific period, what is the limit?	Code 100,000 euros /year Comment 100,000/year for natural and legal persons
16. Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party during an election?	Code No Comment Regular limit applies
17. If there is a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party during an election, what is the limit?	Code Not applicable
18. Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a candidate?	Code No Comment .
19. If there is a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a candidate, what is the limit?	Code Not applicable
20. Is there a limit on the amount a candidate can contribute to their own election campaign?
21. Is there a limit on in-kind donations to political parties?
22. Is there a limit on in-kind donations to candidates?
23. Is there a ban on political parties engaging in commercial activities?
24. Is there a ban on political parties taking loans in relation to election campaigns?
25. Is there a ban on candidates taking loans in relation to election campaigns?
26. Is there a ban on donors to political parties/candidates participating in public tender/procurement processes?
27. Are there provisions requiring donations to go through the banking system?

Question	Value
28. Are there provisions for direct public funding to political parties?	Code No public funding available Comment However, tax deductions are made for donations from both natural and juridical persons.
29. What are the eligibility criteria for political parties to receive public funding?	Code Not applicable
30. What is the allocation calculation for political parties to receive public funding?	Code Not applicable
31. What are the provisions on 'ear marking' direct public funding to political parties (how it should be used)?	Code Not applicable
32. Are there provisions for free or subsidized access to media for political parties?	Code Yes Comment .
33. What criteria determine allocation for free or subsidized access to media for political parties?	Code Equal Comment Assuming party has nominated candidates for at least 25% of seats (or represents a minority).
34. Are there provisions for free or subsidized access to media for candidates?	Code Yes
35. Are there provisions for any other form of indirect public funding?	Code Yes Comment Tax deductions is available for donations to political parties; moreover, individuals can allocate the 2 per thousand of the 'IRPEF' (tax on the revenues of physical persons) to political parties. Space is provided for campaign activities and for posters during election campaigns, and parties do not have to pay for statutes' registration.
36. Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties tied to gender equality among candidates?	Code No Comment Public funding has been abolished in 2014. (See Q.28 for others provisions referred to gender)
37. Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties?	Code Yes, funds earmarked for gender activities Other Comment The mechanism is related to gender quotas, and applies to both National and European elections. If one of the two genders is represented less than the 40 per cent of the overall number of candidates to each election, parties can lose up to the 10 per cent of the funds that they receive from the allocations of 2 per thousand of the tax on the revenues of natural persons; In addition to that, parties that do not use at least the 10 per cent of their income from 2 per thousand of the tax on the revenues of natural persons for activities aimed at enhancing the participation of women in politics, have to pay administrative fines (20% of the income coming from 2 per thousand). The resource that are not assigned because of these rules, are then reassigned to those parties that observed the 40 per cent gender quota, in proportions to the votes received in the current election.

Question	Value
38. Is there a ban on vote buying?	Code Yes Comment The provision is aimed at vote buying by 'maffia-type' organisations.
39. Are there limits on the amount a political party can spend?	Code Yes Comment Limits apply only to election campaigns
40. If there are limits on the amount a political party can spend, what is the limit?	Code The limit is one euro per vote cast to a party for the elections to the Chamber and one euro per vote cast for the Senate elections.
41. Are there limits on the amount a candidate can spend?	Code Yes Comment restriction to candidates' spending apply both to the local level and the european level.
42. If there are limits on the amount a candidate can spend, what is the limit?	Code In addition to the limit for political parties, candidates can spend EUR 52,000 plus EUR 0.1 per citizen in the electoral district.
43. Are there limits on the amount that third parties can spend on election campaign activities?
44. Are there limits on traditional media advertising spending in relation to election campaigns?
45. Are there limits on online media advertising spending in relation to election campaigns?
46. Do any other restrictions on online media advertisement (beyond limits) exist?

Question	Value
47. Do political parties have to report regularly on their finances?	Code Yes Comment Political parties should report at least once a year on their financial situation.
48. Do political parties have to report on their election campaign finances?	Code Yes
49. Do candidates have to report on their election campaign finances?	Code Yes
50. Do third parties have to report on election campaign finances?
51. Is information in reports from political parties and/or candidates to be made public?	Code Yes Comment Party financial accounts must be published on the websites of the political parties, the website of the Chamber of Deputies, as well as in newspapers, and the Official Gazette of the State.
52. Must reports from political parties and/or candidates reveal the identity of donors?	Code Sometimes Comment Donations must be reported when above 5,000 euro, yearly.
53. Must reports from political parties and/or candidates include information on itemized income?
54. Must reports from political parties and/or candidates include information on itemized spending?
55. Which institution(s) receives financial reports from political parties and/or candidates?	Code Special agency for political finance Comment Commission for the guarantee of the political parties' statutes and for the transparency and the control of their accounts
56. Which institution(s) is responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations?	Code Special agency for political finance Comment The 'Commission for the guarantee of the statute and for the transparency of the political parties? balance sheets' has exclusive competence to control over the regularity and the conformity of parties' financial reports.
57. What power is granted to the institution(s) responsible for examining reports and/or investigating violations?
58. What sanctions are provided for political finance infractions?	Code Fines Deregistration of party Loss of elected office Comment In case of non compliance with regulations, political parties are both fined and in specific cases excluded by the political parties's register for the next year; in this way they cannot receive indirect funding.

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