Matteo Marzotto Trial Advances in Italy

MILAN — A hearing took place in the Matteo Marzotto trial Friday just as the Italian government is working on a new law that would change the course of fiscal trials. If the legislation is approved, individuals charged with tax evasion who have already paid their debt to the state before the start of a trial will not be tried at a penal level. As it stands, fiscal trials run parallel but independently of penal ones. A well-placed legal source told WWD that, for example, prosecutors are in a wait-and-see mode, and any decision on Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli is on hold, depending on whether this law will pass or not. In 2013, Prada and Bertelli settled with Italian tax authorities regarding unpaid taxes related to the location of their corporate headquarters in Luxembourg rather than in their home country. In the fall, Italy’s tax authorities started investigating the designer and her husband. The investigations revolve around “the accuracy of certain past tax filings” relating to foreign-owned companies. This follows a “voluntary disclosure” to tax authorities in December 2013 that resulted in an agreement between the couple and Italian tax officials. It is understood that Bertelli and Prada in 2013

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