how's the accounting system in italy?

if  you're talking about a business not just personal tax it is very complicated.of course you can register your own invoices etc but you would definitely require the services of an accountant (commercialista) to get you thru the jungle.You will/would on a regular basis receive unexpected demands for huge sums of money you believe to have already paid (in a perentory way) only the swift intervention of your accountant would save you from the jaws of the agenzia delle entrate (see IRS).on top of direct taxation there would be ssn payments these are for health/pension or whatever are obligatory and assume the dimensions of tax too.What you are allowed to deduct as expenses or whatever is initself a mysterious jungle not at all an obvious thing with time scales and practically algabraic approach.IRS people btw actually only like to talk to accountants it seems they can understand each other which is useful as they seem to hate people in general(take that for true) where do they find these people(?).IF however you will not be running any form of business concern and you are only concerned with a staright forward personal tax return then (you would still require assistance) but few a few dollars there are local centres (caf) who will help you to make your declaration,alternatively if there is little "to do" a commercialista would handle it for you anyway and a modest fee.i run a small business,the cost of the accountant's is currently (including 20% vat tax)Euro 2.880,00. per annum ,which is within the norm. 

 Ciao,It is impossible to advise you without knowing what you want to do and what type of company setup you want to use.For small businesses, one man companies etc. you can do the accounting yourself or get a tutor from the Agenzia delle Entrate to help you out. But since you're a foreigner I would definitely urge you to find a "commercialista". Ask around in your local area and choose somebody who is already working in with your type of business. Because there is commercialista and commercialista...as with everything in Italy.I pay 720 euro + vat (20%) for mine, but as I said, I'm a small business professional, so the fee is much lower that it would be for a company setup.I issue my own invoices, but he registers them, pays the vat and tax for me (using my bank account, of course), does the annual sector study and prepare and send in my tax declaration. I only go to see him once or twice a year to hand in the originals of my expenses and other documentation needed for tax deduction.Good luck