Putting off the STUDI DI SETTORE

Anyone who knows something about having a VAT number in Italy may be familiar with this little inconvenience, the STUDI DI SETTORE! Before you can officially compile your taxes you have to answer a set of questions related to your line of work. On the surface they look like they are supposed to be FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. But that is not the case here. No, siree! Based on your answers, the Italian government will decide if you are paying enough taxes or not based on how much money you claimed and how much work you say you did COMPARED TO OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR SECTOR. Shit.

They are looking for the tax evaders. The problem is that tax evaders are good at answering these questions. I am not. If you get them wrong, you may have to pay extra taxes.

Here is how I understand the STUDI DI SETTORE.

The Tax Authorities want to make sure you are paying a comparable amount of taxes to other people who are doing the same type of work as you. If you are not, they will slap you with a penalty.

For example, if you are a dentist (I use dentists as an example because they are infamous for claiming less than what they take in. Since there is a perception that they ask for and make too much money anyway, I am confident I won't offend too many people if I use them as an example. There are also less Dentists to get angry with me than, say, English teachers, or Restaurant Owners. See, I actually think about these things.) and you are making, say, 500 euros per year, and working 80 hours per week and 90% of the other dentists in Italy are making 100.000 euros per year and working 40 hours per week, that may be a red flag that a. You are a lousy dentist and should think about a career change, b. You need to raise your fees or c. You are getting paid but "forgetting" to issue receipts. At any rate, the Tax Folks don't really care which category you fall into, as long as you pay what the others are paying, and the STUDI DI SETTORE ensures that.

I am American and so I have a deep fear of Tax Authorities (and Police, but that is a different matter). To complete this document I have to answer questions like: "How many lines of text did you translate in 2015?" and "How many hours did you ACTUALLY work per week in 2015?" (Smells like a trick question to me! Am I supposed to count the hours I spend blogging INSTEAD of working while TELLING MYSELF I am working? Does class preparation count? Is farting around on the internet considered Class Prep? Should I look MORE efficient or LESS efficient?)

Wait a minute, was I supposed to KEEP TRACK of how many hours I actually work, even if they are not billable?!

Well, surprise surprise, I didn't. And now I have to go back and solve the mystery of what the hell I actually did with my time in 2015.

Did I do anything?
Who am I?
What is the meaning of life?

Is that my SOCK DRAWER calling me?? I think it needs to be organized... ASAP!!