hollywood billionaire

Chapter 438: Buy Buy Buy (Part )
“The first document comes from the Milan office of Latham & Watkins.”

Jordan Bromley skillfully divides the document into several related parts, with strict logic and concise wording, and presents the story in a fluent manner.

"According to your instructions, they have registered a startup called 'Villa Passalacqua SRL' in Lake Como. The company registration fee is 2300 euros, and the registration fee with the Commercial Registry of Como City is 520 euros. Since the logo of the Passalacqua Villa is still being designed, they have not yet started the trademark registration process, so there is no cost in this regard for the time being."

"I rejected the initial proposal." Han Yi nodded. "I found a brand marketing agency in London to take charge of the entire project. What they came up with was a bit too... localized. Maybe I didn't communicate it clearly with them. What I need is a brand image that can be recognized in the international market and is unforgettable at first sight."

“We are going to open branches of Passalacqua all over the world?”

"You don't have to use this brand name. I don't have a final answer in my mind about this." Han Yi pointed to the documents covering the desk. "However, since you have chosen to get involved in this business, you have to attack the leaders in the niche field like I did with music... If I didn't have this mentality, I wouldn't have asked you to help me find so many assets."

"That's right," Jordan responded, thinking for a moment, and then continued, "Which agency are you looking for in London? If this one doesn't work, I have some other options in New York for your reference."

"A company called ikon. They have helped F1, Bentley and Cartier reshape and upgrade their brand images. Oh, yes, and the one below..." Han Yi pointed to the West Hollywood skyline outdoors, "West Park Shopping Center, I forgot its name... Its overall brand packaging was also completed by this agency."

"That's amazing. Bentley, Cartier, F1, West Park." Jordan recited these names in his mind and was quite impressed. "How do you know them? Yi, you seem to know the best in every field."

"Maybe... But this one has nothing to do with me this time. It was recommended by a friend."

Han Yi smiled and did not take all the credit for himself.

First of all, it is completely unnecessary to create a mysterious personality in this regard.

Secondly, it was Barbara Pavin who recommended this brand marketing agency to him.

Alex Colley, the founder of ikon, is a well-known but active figure in the fashion and art circles of London and even the whole of Europe. As an international supermodel who has already entered the first echelon of the industry and is indispensable in every dinner and ceremony in Europe, Barbara naturally has plenty of opportunities to meet outstanding representatives from all walks of life.

This is what connections are like. On Instagram, you may just be following each other and may not say a word to each other all year round, but when needed, you can recommend them to clients as resources. It is mutually beneficial and everyone gets what they need. This is the most comfortable professional status.

"As long as there are capable people taking care of it, I will feel at ease."

Jordan glanced at Han Yi, whose lips and eyebrows were filled with a lingering smile, and who knew what he was thinking, and continued talking.

"A limited liability company registered in Italy needs to have a local Italian bank account. With your authorization, Latham & Watkins helped us open a company account at UniCredit Bank in Milan - see this registration confirmation letter from UniCredit. Then, still following your instructions, Antoine Gachet withdrew 30 million euros from BNP's strategic asset allocation plan as your personal investment in the company and remitted it to this Milan account."

“The funds arrived on November 11, and the transaction was completed on November 1, which was two days ago.”

"Yes."

Han Yi nodded slightly. He remembered this time very clearly.

Because, on November 11th... no, it should be said that at 4:11 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on November 3rd, Han Yi received the cash back reward reminder from the memo.

[This successful consumption is 20000000.00 euros]

【Receive a reward of 20000000.00 Euros】

Not more, not less, a one-to-one cash back ratio, and the money spent was returned to Han Yi's account at Coutts Bank in the UK.

This is the consumption with the smallest reward multiplier of Han Yi so far.

It is surprising, but not so surprising, because although Passalacqua has a long history and profound cultural heritage, and the Lake Como where it is located is also a favorite holiday destination of Han Yi, but when it comes to the manor itself, its current condition is indeed worrying.

How much sense of achievement and satisfaction can a dilapidated mansion with even the fountain covered in silt bring to Han Yi?

It is not easy to have a 1:1 cashback ratio, and this is based on the fact that Han Yi went to Nice and talked with Barbara for several hours, figured out the significance of buying Passalacqua, set a clear development plan for the future of the manor, and had expectations in his heart, only then did he finally achieve this reward multiplier.

If I hadn't wandered around Nice that day and had forced myself to buy the Passalacqua, I would have only gotten half back, or even none at all.

"With this deal, you are eligible for many administrative benefits in Italy, one of which is... this."

With a flick of his finger, Jordan Bromley pulled out a coated paper brochure for the Milan office of Latham & Watkins from the pile of documents related to Passalacqua.

Han Yi took a closer look and saw a beautiful indigo booklet with two large arrows on the cover. Embedded in the arrows were high-definition photos of Florence's Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The logo of Latham & Watkins was printed in the lower left corner, and in the upper left corner, there was a row of bold and two rows of italic words.

【Golden Visa Italy】

【Live by the lake and travel freely in Europe】

“Golden Visa for Italy?”

"It's also called the Italian investment visa," Jordan explained. "Compared to those countries in Western Europe, Italy's golden visa requirements are actually very low, or... there are a lot of loopholes that can be exploited."

"How to say?"

"Lawyers at Latham Milan told us that the Italian government will enact Law No. 12, the '232 Budget Law', in mid-December of this year. This budget law provides a new way for overseas residents to enter and reside long-term in Italy, 'Investor Entry and Residence'."

Jordan held up the document in front of him and gave Han Yi a detailed analysis.

"So..." Han Yi frowned, "There is no such thing as a 'golden visa' in Italy right now?"

“There are other residence visas, and there are visas related to investment, but they are not integrated like in Greece or Portugal, they are not as favorable as in other countries, and they are not processed as quickly.”

"I'm surprised that a European country in 2016 doesn't have a formal visa policy to attract investment, but considering that this is Italy, it's not that surprising." Han Yi shrugged and teased, "I just bought an Italian villa that has never been cleaned since the 19th century. I should know this better than anyone." "Haha, but you go there to buy ancient monuments, don't you? If they clean too diligently, there won't be so many ancient monuments." Jordan patted his knees and laughed twice, "Better late than never. Milan just wants to ask for your opinion on whether to take this visa. If you do, they can reserve a quota with the Italian government in advance."

“In which month of 2017 did this law come into effect? ​​The 2017 Budget Law.”

“It is expected to be in July 2017. It needs to be reviewed by the cabinet and then jointly issued by the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.”

"According to the policy for next July, all the transactions I completed in December this year can be reserved." Han Yi smacked his lips, "Sure enough, there are a lot of loopholes to exploit."

“This is Italy. And, to be fair, any government, not just Italy, would make an exception for an investment of this magnitude.”

"What is the minimum investment threshold for their visa?"

"There are three types of situations," Jordan said briefly. "First, government publicly issued bonds. This type of investment requires at least 200 million euros, and there are investment period requirements."

"Two million euros invested in Italian bonds." Han Yi raised his eyebrows. He didn't know which rich man would do such a stupid thing. "How long is the term?"

"The Italian government's requirement is that you must purchase medium- and long-term bonds." Jordan glanced at the information in front of him. "Treasury bills with a term of one to twelve months are called BOTs, zero-coupon bonds with a term of twenty-four months are called CTZs, interest-bearing treasury bonds with a term of five or seven years are called CCTeus, fixed six-month bonds with a term of three to thirty years are called BTPs, and bonds with a term of five to thirty years that are linked to eurozone inflation are called BTPis. Only by purchasing the last three types can the requirements be met."

“So the Italian government thinks they can convince wealthy foreigners to make long-term bets on ... the Italian economy?”

“Obviously they themselves know how ridiculous this requirement is, so almost all law firms and immigration agencies will only recommend the other two ways to obtain a golden visa through investment to their clients… First, invest more than 500,000 euros in an existing Italian company and hold its shares. When applying for the visa, the company must be in operation and have provided at least one annual financial report to the Italian government.”

"Then my situation doesn't quite fit the bill." Han Yi curled his lips. "Passalacqua is a company I founded myself, not one that already exists... Even if it counts, I have to wait until next year to apply."

"But you meet the next investment method I'm going to talk about." Jordan stretched out his hand and pressed it in the air. "The next method is to establish a technological innovation enterprise in Italy that meets the requirements of 'Industry 4.0'. The investment amount only needs to be more than euros."

"Isn't this even more outrageous?" Han Yi laughed dumbly. "A technologically innovative enterprise that meets the requirements of Industry 4.0, in this sentence, apart from the word 'enterprise', which one does Passalacqua have?"

"You don't need to meet any of the requirements." Jordan extended his index finger and drew a deep scratch on the document with a smile. "The Italian government stipulates that as long as a startup meets one of the following three requirements, it can be considered 'innovative'."

“First, R&D expenditures must be at least 15% of the higher of costs or gross output.

Second, hire highly qualified personnel, with at least one-third being PhDs, post-doctoral fellows, and researchers, or two-thirds being graduate students.

Third, be the owner, custodian or licensee of at least one patent, or holder of registered software.”

"There is no minimum number of employees required?" Han Yi immediately discovered the loopholes in these three rules.

"No."

"Mattia is the graduate student." Han Yi was referring to the family spirit of the Passalacqua Manor, who was retained by him and would be the person in charge of supervising the transformation of the manor into a resort hotel. "A graduate student from Fordham University, if I remember correctly."

"A graduate student in business analytics, you remembered correctly." Jordan nodded with a smile, "We just need to register him under the newly established Villa Passalacqua SRL, and he will meet the requirements of an 'innovative enterprise'... At least until you complete the application for the golden visa, he can remain 'innovative'."

"Italy." Han Yi marveled at the magic of this country for the nth time today. "So what are the specific benefits of their golden visa? Last time I took the one from Portugal, others have a 20% domestic income tax, but foreign income is completely tax-free."

"It is also a tax benefit. As long as the golden visa holder has a registered residence in Italy, only 30% of the income reported in the first two years needs to be taxed. If the area moved to is southern Italy, only 10% of the income needs to be taxed. If you are a business owner or self-employed, there are tax benefits and tax refunds."

"That's more like it." Han Yi tilted his head back in satisfaction. "In terms of procedure, if I apply for the Italian Golden Visa, will it conflict with the one I applied for in Portugal? Considering that they are both in the Schengen area."

“No, whether it is Italy, Portugal or the EU itself, they all allow overseas applicants to hold multiple golden visas at the same time.” Jordan confirmed, “If not, the visa business of many countries will not be able to be done.”

“So technically I can file all my ‘foreign’ income in the EU in Portugal to get the tax-free benefits, and file all my ‘domestic’ income in Italy in Italy to get the maximum benefit from both visas?”

In fact, Han Yi does not need to consider the tax issue at all. After all, no matter how much the tax is, it is not more than the cash back he receives for each consumption.

But paying taxes does not bring him positive feedback after all, while reasonable tax avoidance can make him feel happier every time he spends money.

and so……

why not?

"That's right. In theory or in practice, it can be done this way."

"Then let's do it, Jordan. Tell Latham that I agree to move forward with the Italian Golden Visa application... Ask them to help me prepare."

"Got it. I'll make a note of it and send them a confirmation email tomorrow morning. I'll CC Antoine what information they need to provide and ask him to prepare it."

"Thank you."

"No, I should thank you, boss... You've made me the busiest person in the law firm, and I have to work overtime on Sunday." Jordan held the pen cap in his mouth and wrote furiously on the documents.

"Shouldn't the head of the firm be the busiest one?"

"Just a business partner, not the boss." Jordan Bromley waved his hand casually, without further chat, and reached for the next stack of documents.

“Okay, Passalacqua is done, Italy is done, now on to the next job…that Klimt masterpiece.”

"I have to admit, working on this deal... was really eye-opening for me."

(End of this chapter)