Dont Know if anyone out there is clever enough to help me with this one 
I seem to recall reading at some point something about, as an o/d working solely for an overseas company that you could register zero rated for v.a.t?
I new i should have stayed at school long enough to do my eleven plus!!
Praps some of you bright sparks can enlighten me
If you are an owner driver you should be VAT registerd and can therefore claim your VAT back. VAT is set independantly by each member state within the EU and can be claimed back across borders, however I believe it is so difficult to get it back from Italy that not even the big hauliers try.
The only Zero rated VAT items are set by the government and in UK include things such as food, however this rate can be changed at the whim of the chancellor.
It is probable you are looking at not paying income Tax to the British government, as a sole trader this would be very difficult but I am not an accountant. If you start a company then employ yourself you may be liable to corporation tax etc etc.
I think you need to speak to an accountant.
Montie if you were working for a company based outside the UK you would probably have to register for VAT in their country anyway so you wouldn’t be gaining anything. Being registered in this country isn’t a bad thing and as an O/D you would be better off being registered.
Julian, Italy have improved in recent times regarding the refunding of VAT and are a lot quicker than they used to be, so much so that the commission rate charge by my foreign VAT recovery agent was recently reduced for Italy to reflect the improved payment times. Luxembourg has slipped back a bit and has been warned by the EU to improve.