In February, at an industry conference, Fiat SpA and Chrysler LLC Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne suggested that that the Italian automaker could eventually merge with its Detroit counterpart and move its corporate headquarters from Turin, Italy to the U.S.A.
Soon after, Fiat’s Chairman John Elkann, the grandson of Gianni Agnelli family who owns 30 percent of Fiat, stated the company had no plans to leave Italy. Marchionne also backtracked, but only after a meeting with Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and other politicians, saying no final decision has been made and that nothing would be decided on the carmaker's future headquarters until 2014.
Fast forward to March and a lengthy article on Reuters regarding Sergio Marchionne and future of the company, where the subject of Fiat’s headquarters is once again put on the table.
"The location where you establish the legal HQ is where you pay taxes," said the second top Fiat source. "If I pay 70 percent tax in Italy and only 30 percent in the U.S., it's a no brainer where to go."
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