No tax for 10 years... Italy’s lure for retirees

BRITISH retirees thinking of moving to the sun-soaked south of Italy could soon be able to take advantage of a massive tax break that is being mooted by the country’s new government.

It hopes to reverse the chronic population decline of Italy’s southern regions by luring people to settle there with the promise of paying no taxes for 10 years.

The scheme will be open not only to Italians but also to foreigners. The idea has been proposed by the League, the hard-right party that makes up half of Italy’s ruling coalition, which came to power in June. It will initially focus on Sardinia, Sicily and Calabria.

“We think it could appeal to foreigners – Italy is a beautiful country,” said Alberto Brambilla, economic adviser to Matteo Salvini, the interior minister.

“We’re trying to provide an incentive for the transfer of older people” Mr Brambilla told La Repubblica newspaper. The incomers will be spared paying any taxes as long as they live for more than six months in their new home. The average couple would spend up to €25,000 (£23,000) a year, boosting the local economy, it is calculated.

High unemployment and a lack of jobs mean the south struggles to attract people of working age. The “grey panthers” would be directed towards towns and villages with less than 4,000 citizens that have faced a population decline of 20 per cent in a decade. “We’re calculating that up to 600,000 people could take advantage of the tax break and move to the three regions within three to four years,” said Mr Brambilla.