{"text":[[{"start":9.28,"text":"Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s plan to impose an “exit tax” on people who leave Italy from next year risks driving away rich expatriates drawn to cities such as Milan over the past decade, wealth advisers have warned."}],[{"start":23.14,"text":"In its draft budget submitted to parliament over the weekend, Meloni’s three-party coalition proposed a 26 per cent tax on paper profits accrued by people who have assets of €800,000 or more and decide to relocate from Italy."}],[{"start":38.28,"text":"Private wealth lawyers warned that the move, if approved by parliament, could reduce Italy’s attractiveness to the world’s super-rich and other professionals, and discourage them from remaining in the country long-term."}],[{"start":48.76,"text":"“It’s a really significant move, and one that is going to have a lot of clients who have relocated there, or based there generally, very nervous,” warned Charlie Sosna, head of private wealth and tax at law firm Mishcon de Reya."}],[{"start":63.2,"text":"Italy’s finance ministry did not respond to a request for comment."}],[{"start":67.52,"text":"Italy’s proposal comes as governments and states around the world reconsider how to tax the wealthy. Californians are due to vote on Tuesday on whether to approve a one-off 5 per cent wealth tax on billionaires."}],[{"start":79.16,"text":"The exit tax, which Meloni’s government has described as targeting the “super-rich”, will apply to people who were tax residents in Italy for six of the 10 years before their departure, but could also be refunded if financial assets are not liquidated for some years after they leave."}],[{"start":95.02,"text":"Over the past decade, Italy has tried to reverse its historic problem of brain drain with tax incentives to encourage affluent professionals and wealthy expatriates to move there."}],[{"start":105.4,"text":"Under its high-profile “flat tax” regime, wealthy expatriates moving to Italy can pay a single annual levy on their total overseas assets and income for 15 years. When the scheme first began in 2017, the fee was fixed at €100,000 per year."}],[{"start":121.26,"text":"In recent years, Rome also offered tax breaks for newly arrived working professionals, including Italians returning from abroad, who pay income tax on just a portion of their salaries for five years."}],[{"start":131.44,"text":"But in the past two years, amid a rising outcry over an influx of super-rich expats to Italy’s financial capital, Milan, Meloni’s government has twice raised the flat tax, which is now levied at €300,000 a year for newer arrivals."}],[{"start":148.72,"text":"“Clients generally were [already] anxious about a relocation to Italy as they saw it as unstable, unpredictable,” said Sosna. But with recent changes to the flat tax scheme, “and now the mention of an exit tax”, they are going to be “really considering their options”, he added."}],[{"start":164.6,"text":"Rome hopes to raise €3.7mn from the exit tax next year, rising to just over €6.7mn for the next four years, and then falling again to €3.4mn a year from 2032, as those who left can start to claim refunds."}],[{"start":180.6,"text":"Maurizio Fresca, a senior tax lawyer at Rome-based law firm Chiomenti, said many aspects of the proposal were ambiguous, including how it would relate to the flat tax and other incentive schemes — and whether it would only apply to assets held in Italy or worldwide."}],[{"start":194.96,"text":"“It’s absolutely not clear, but it’s reasonable to expect that a number of the open issues will be addressed in the coming weeks,” Fresca said. “We are at an early stage of the legislative process. The draft must undergo parliamentary scrutiny. In this process, there is the prospect for amendments and clarification.”"}],[{"start":212.64,"text":"Marco Cerrato, a partner at law firm Maisto e Associati, said the draft proposal appeared to exclude flat-tax payers’ foreign assets but needed to be clarified. Even so, he warned it could still spook some wealthy individuals who were considering a move to Italy."}],[{"start":227.24,"text":"“People who were thinking of moving to Italy for tax reasons may be a bit frightened to do so,” Cerrato said."}],[{"start":233.96,"text":"Tim Stovold, head of tax at Moore Kingston Smith, said it could encourage people to leave Italy before hitting the six-year threshold at which they would pay the proposed exit levy."}],[{"start":243.04,"text":"“It is going to make Italy a much less popular destination for individuals to make their long-term home,” he said."}],[{"start":249.92,"text":"Many other countries already impose an exit tax on wealthy individuals who relocate. In the US, those with a net worth above $2mn who give up their green cards or citizenship must pay capital gains tax on the paper gains of their assets across the world."}],[{"start":265.68,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1793690386_3993.mp3"}