The new Lombardy of foreign Scrooges: who are the super-rich who pay less taxes than Italians here (thanks to the Flat Tax)

Milan – Here are the new “conquerors” of the Belpaese. They don’t arrive with weapons, but with bulging wallets. They are the super-rich foreigners who have begun to move to Italy , seduced by the national “great beauty”, by our landscapes, by our cuisine, and above all by a tax regime that winks at them. A Flat Tax invented in 2017 by the government of Matteo Renzi – whose name, “attracts Scrooge McDuck” already said it all – allows these millionaires to pay a fixed amount instead of progressive taxes to shelter their earnings and properties abroad. And Milan , with its international aura of finance and fashion, has become their favorite destination .

"Eight years after the 2017 Budget Law came into force, there are truly a lot of people who have arrived in Italy. From the estimates we have made, we are talking about a total of arrivals, based on this law, of about 4,500 people", explains the lawyer Marco Cerrato , of the Maisto e Associati firm. And with them, of course, they bring their families and "servants" , like nobles of times gone by.

In some areas of Milan, property prices have increased by up to 46 percent in five years (Photo/Francesco Ungaro)

The mechanism of the tax is quite simple: you just have to not have lived in Italy for nine of the ten years prior to the transfer and pay an annual Flat Tax of 100,000 euros, which from 2025 will rise to 200,000 . A trifle, for those swimming in gold. "This tax covers all the foreign taxation of the person who moves to Italy", clarifies Cerrato. In short, you pay a fixed amount on your foreign capital and then you can sleep soundly, while on the Italian earnings you pay like all the other taxpayers .

In the Lombard capital, the numbers speak for themselves. Since 2017, the French registered in the registry office have gone from 343 to 577 in 2023. The British , from 163 to 215, with a peak of 402 in 2020, when Brexit pushed many to seek refuge in the Eurozone. “This is about half of the new arrivals , people who are still relatively young, who work mainly in private equity ,” says the lawyer. People with well-stocked wallets, who certainly don’t mind spending.

Generally, Cerrato explains, “they choose Milan if they come from London or if they are relatively young, while among the older people, there are those who decide to enjoy the fruits of their activity in Rome or Tuscany , not excluding the lake area, in Lombardy ”. It is no coincidence that Lake Como is becoming a small capital for celebrities from all over the world.

In a real estate market that in 2023 marked the pace with a 13.2 percent drop in sales, the luxury segment went against the grain. Properties over 2 million euros , located in the most exclusive neighborhoods, continued to record constant growth. In 2024, especially since September, the luxury market has accelerated further, thanks also to the decrease in interest rates. And for 2025, forecasts indicate a further increase in prices .

Moreover, the lawyer states, "this particular segment of people has very particular needs , in terms of the type of housing they want to rent or buy; the most requested type of property is of the highest range and certainly does not influence the real estate market of the intermediate segments of the population".

Unlike Portugal, where a similar tax regime attracted around 80,000 new residents , creating tensions with the local middle class and leading to the abolition of the rule, Italy has aimed for a more selective invasion. “The greater accessibility of the Portuguese regime had allowed many more categories, including foreign pensioners, to benefit from this privileged treatment,” observes Cerrato. In our country, however, the higher entry threshold has filtered arrivals better.

George Clooney driving on Lake Como, where he owns Villa Oleandra

In the world ranking of cities by residents with assets over 100 million euros , Milan is already in 22nd place. “Especially in the last year there has been a large influx of people from London ; these are generally not native British , but citizens of various nationalities who lived and worked in London,” explains the lawyer. The French follow, “fleeing the rather high taxation in their country.”

Then Swiss , Brazilians , Mexicans . Before the war, also many Russians, now held back by visa restrictions. There is no shortage of Belgians , Germans , Norwegians and, of course, rich people from the Middle East . Here it is, in short, the new colonization of Italy. Peaceful, silent, a conquest made not with weapons, but with the IBAN.