There are unlikely to be many winners as a result of the Chancellor’s Budget next week. Entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals are panicking amid fears of a steep rise in the rate of capital gains tax and changes to inheritance tax; more than 6,000 millionaires are set to flee Britain for the European Union by the end of December, according to research carried out by migration consultancy firm Henley and Partners.
One victor that may emerge from the chaos is Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, who secures €200,000 (£167,000) for her nation’s exchequer each year for every new high-net-worth resident she brings in.
This comes in the form of an annual flat tax on worldwide income paid by new residents, no matter how much they have earned, which applies for a maximum of 15 years. For mobile, ultra-wealthy individuals, it is becoming an attractive option in the face of increasingly hostile tax regimes in countries such as the UK and France.
Italy topped the list of expected European destinations for globally mobile millionaires in 2024, which also includes Greece and Switzerland, Henley and Partners’ research found. Nicola Saccardo, an expert in Italian taxation at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, said that the number of clients approaching him regarding a possible move to Italy has doubled during the past year.
Peter Ferrigno, of Henley and Partners, said: “Italy has said – quite rationally – that [wealthy individuals] who are not in the country do not spend any money there. If they move there, the government will earn money from that – not just through the flat rate of tax, but also things like VAT.
“So if you go to Italy and the government limits tax on your income, capital gains, you name it, everybody knows exactly where they stand, but the state will still make money. Nobody is going to use €200,000 worth of public services in a year – you can’t drive on that many roads.”
