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Italy\u2019s government said Wednesday it would double a flat tax on foreign income for high earners newly moved from abroad, from 100,000 euros ($110,000) to 200,000 euros a year.<\/p>\n
The original rate, levied for a maximum of 15 years in lieu of other taxes, was introduced in 2017 in a bid to lure wealthy people from overseas, including Italians who had been tax resident elsewhere for many years.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni\u2019s government approved \u201ca regulation that has made a lot of noise \u2014 the doubling of the so-called flat tax for billionaires\u201d, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said after a cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n
He said 1,186 super-rich individuals had transferred their residency for tax purposes to Italy since 2017, but said it was \u201cvery difficult to evaluate\u201d how much they had invested in Italy.<\/p>\n
Giorgetti said the new rate \u2014 which a ministry spokesperson confirmed would only apply to new arrivals \u2014 was still attractive but said it was important that countries did not seek to compete to offer the lowest rates for high-worth individuals and companies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are against starting a competition because countries like Italy, which have very limited fiscal space, are destined to lose,\u201d he told a press conference.<\/p>\n
Giorgetti recalled ongoing global discussions about how to make the super-rich pay more taxes, a topic which dominated a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro last month.<\/p>\n
The ministers agreed to work together on the issue but stopped short of a more substantial deal, following opposition notably from the United States.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n