On the side of Matin, Daily from the city of Lausanne, the news was welcomed with philosophy and a good dose of Swiss humor. “The rich are very mobile, they come according to their moods, quips the French -speaking newspaper. As others go from kitchen to bathroom whistling. ”
The rich in question are two bankers, Renaud de Planta and Bertrand Demole, who, according to an indiscretion taken up by almost all the titles of the French -speaking Swiss press, would have recently decided to fold up luggage to elect home in Italy. Not to take advantage of the Mediterranean sun, but rather to benefit from an advantageous transalpine tax regime, that of flat tax (literally “flat tax” in English).
Two prized destinations of the millionaires
Introduced in 2017 by the center left government, flat tax is a regime reserved for rich foreigners. This one “Allows those who have not been tax residents in Italy for at least nine years in the last ten years to obtain, by moving their residence in Italy, the application of a fixed annual tax on all income produced abroad”, details the economic daily The sun-24 hours. Thus, whatever the income of the person concerned abroad, the Italian taxman will require “only” 200,000 euros annually.
A measure that has met with great success, regrets, in the columns of Temps, Bryan Lo Guidice, Swiss banker worried about the downgrading of his country. “Switzerland, long perceived as the ultimate Le Havre of heritage, is only 4e in the 2025 classification of the destinations most popular with millionaires, Mistogs the businessman. This observation is already worrying. But what is even more so is to note that Italy is now ahead of us, occupying the 3e place of this ranking ”. Did the misfortune of some make others happy?
Doubt around profits for the economy
This time, the adage may not be valid, if we believe the various comments in the transalpine press, not frankly happy with the fact that Italy has become a new Eldorado for millionaires. And it’s not just an ideological question, underlines The sun-24 hours.
“Italy may attract wealth, there is no transparency on the profits that it brings to the real economy”, accuses the Milanese media, which supports its criticism of a recent report from the Court of Auditors, which criticized the fact that “The State does not require a link with productive investments and does not even measure them”. Under these conditions, slices the Milanese daily life, “The risk is to promote the arrival of Picsou which only bring to Italy their residence”.
Be that as it may, when he arrived at the government, Giorgia Meloni doubled the amount of this flat tax, which went in 2023 from 100,000 to 200,000 euros, probably with the aim of obtaining more revenue. According to the Court of Auditors, this increase should not discourage the influx of millionaires, which has largely increased over time.
On the contrary, in a context where the United Kingdom recently changed its tax regime, which was favorable to foreign millionaires, the Court of Auditors expects a “tax migration” from London to Italy. This one, for its part, concludes the centrist daily Corriere della Sera – After denouncing the effect of this regime on the increase in rents in Milan -, “Risk of transforming our country into a new Monaco”.