De la alfombra roja al peaje de salida: Italia quiere cobrar a los millonarios por marcharse

Gobierno italiana proposes a 26% exit tax for millionaires leaving the country, potentially changing its appeal for wealthy residents. The proposal, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's coalition government, aims to tax the hidden gains of wealthy residents who move their residence abroad, threatening the financial attractiveness of cities like Milan.

The draft budget includes a controversial measure: an exit tax targeting high-income executive residents and affluent individuals transitioning their fiscal domicile abroad. To apply, the taxpayer must have maintained fiscal residence in Italy for at least six of the ten years preceding departure. Deviations from the formal sale of assets within several years of moving may qualify for partial tax refunds.

This move marks a significant shift from Italy's decade-long strategy of aggressive tax exemptions, which turned Milan into a magnet for executives, investors, and multimillionaires worldwide. The program featured a flat tax regime introduced in 2017, allowing high-net-worth foreigners to pay a fixed annual tax of 100,000 euros on all their income and assets abroad for 15 years.

Simultaneously, substantial reductions were made to income tax rates for qualified workers returning from abroad. However, under the Meloni administration, these incentives have been scaled back, with the flat tax for new residents now set at 300,000 euros annually. The introduction of the exit tax could undermine the system's predictability, with the primary consequence likely counterproductive to the government's goals.

The six-year threshold may encourage high-profile foreign executives, entrepreneurs, and asset-rich individuals to depart Italy before the period expires to avoid taxation on their capital gains. Moreover, the measure diminishes Italy's reputation as a stable destination for long-term professional or vital projects, coinciding with intensified competition among European jurisdictions to attract international talent.

Despite media and psychological impacts on investors, official estimates of the tax revenue are modest, predicting only 3.7 million euros in the coming year and a peak of 6.7 million euros in subsequent fiscal years before dropping as departing taxpayers request refunds. This proposal comes amid a global trend of hardening fiscal policies toward high incomes, as seen in the United States, which already imposes a tax surcharge on those renouncing citizenship or permanent residency with substantial assets.

However, the final text still needs parliamentary scrutiny in Rome, where modifications are expected to clarify key aspects, such as whether the tax will apply exclusively to assets domiciled in Italy or extend to global portfolios of taxpayers.