Italy will double a flat levy on foreign income for wealthy new residents, who’ve been flocking to the country to take advantage of it.
The payment of €100,000 ($109,000) a year — which exempts people moving to the country from taxes on overseas earnings, gifts and inheritance for 15 years — will rise to €200,000, Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said Wednesday.
“The measure that has caused a lot of noise is the doubling of the flat tax for billionaires who decide to transfer their tax domicile to Italy,” Giorgetti told a press conference in Rome after an earlier meeting of the Cabinet.
Faced with a squeeze on Italy’s public finances before autumn’s budget, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is looking for ways to raise more revenue. The flat levy that was introduced in 2017 and is now used by about 4,000 people has been seen as one option.
The Il Messaggero newspaper reported the possible increase earlier Wednesday. The charge saves money for those with large amounts of foreign income, though anything they earn in Italy is subject to the same tax regulations as everyone else.