{"id":43520,"date":"2026-04-07T05:28:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T05:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=43520"},"modified":"2026-04-07T05:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T05:28:14","slug":"italy-has-the-best-benefits-milan-takes-on-dubai-as-home-for-the-super-rich-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=43520","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Italy has the best benefits\u2019: Milan takes on Dubai as home for the super-rich | Business"},"content":{"rendered":"


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J<\/span>ust over a month ago, Dubai was the obvious destination<\/a> for wealthy Britons in search of a new home. Few cities allow you to earn vast sums tax-free and spend them across any number of luxury hotels, restaurants and shops.<\/p>\n

But as the United Arab Emirates comes under Iranian fire<\/a>, Dubai\u2019s reputation \u2013 in part created by emigrant influencers<\/a> \u2013 as a haven for the global elite is eroding. Super-rich UK nationals are now looking for a route back to Europe; and Milan, the financial centre of Italy, is climbing to the top of the list.<\/p>\n

\u201cItaly has the best benefits: a flat tax and good quality of life,\u201d says Armand Arton, a consultant who helps multimillionaire and billionaire families to relocate through investment citizenship schemes.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople leaving the UAE can see themselves living in Rome or Milan quite easily as international, metropolitan centres.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is not hard to see why Milan, which is already home to some of the richest bankers, lawyers and investors in Europe<\/a>, has become such a popular choice. Under Italy\u2019s flat-tax regime, foreign residents can pay \u20ac300,000 (\u00a3259,620) a year on all overseas income \u2013 small change for the world\u2019s wealthiest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have always been an international city but it is changing,\u201d says Diletta Giorgolo, who runs Sotheby\u2019s residential real estate office in Italy\u2019s economic and fashion capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have had our special tax regime since 2017, but when the UK ended its non-dom status<\/a>, we had a wave of new buyers coming to Milan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, as the next wave of wealthy migrants turns its attention to the city, can Milan become the new home of the ultra-wealthy?<\/p>\n

The \u2018empty London\u2019 tax break<\/h2>\n
<\/svg><\/span>An Emirates Airbus A380 lands at Heathrow.<\/span> Photograph: NurPhoto\/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The war in the Gulf has already sparked an exodus of wealthy UK nationals, though not all are willing to return home<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For many Europeans, Italy is the most strategic option. In contrast with the UK\u2019s tighter rules, new Italian residents who have not paid taxes in the country for at least nine out of the past 10 years do not have to pay tax on theirforeign income, in exchange for the \u20ac300,000 annual flat tax. They are then taxed on their Italian income and capital gains from investments within five years of opting for the flat tax.<\/p>\n

Marc Acheson, at the financial planner Utmost Wealth Solutions, says Italy\u2019s appeal has grown as the UK has become relatively less appealing for the super-rich. Such is the chatter in Milan that the Italian rule is said to be called \u201csvuota Londra<\/em>\u201d or \u201cevacuate London\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though Italy had its flat-tax regime in 2017, at \u20ac100,000 at the time, it was not attracting a deluge of people,\u201d he says. \u201cThe abolition of the non-dom regime is what really spurred interest,<\/a> and it came also just as Portugal was tightening its rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe regime is simple and people love it,\u201d Acheson adds. \u201cItaly is a lovely country, Milan has a deep financial services sector \u2013 many of the things that make London attractive, Milan has too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberto Bonomi, a partner at the law firm Withers, adds that Italy has also shaken off its reputation as a politically unstable destination. Giorgia Meloni, its populist prime minister, who has been in office since 2022, arrived in power with overtly far-right policies, although appears to have dialled down her ideology<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first there was some scepticism,\u201d Bonomi says. \u201cBut after nine years we have shown that it is a stable system. Clients are no longer scared about Italy \u2013 and recent events show that uncertainty exists everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

La dolce vita \u2013 at a price<\/h2>\n
<\/svg><\/span>The gala opening of Milan\u2019s Scala opera house new season in 2022.<\/span> Photograph: Quirinale Press Office\/AFP\/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

About 5,000 people have joined Italy\u2019s flat-tax scheme so far, according to estimates by Maisto e Associati, an Italian law firm specialising in tax. At first many applicants were Italians who had been based in London, says Marco Cerrato, a partner at the firm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey typically worked in banking, insurance, asset management or for hedge funds. They had been in the UK the past decade and wanted to go back to Italy for personal and tax reasons,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then, after the pandemic, more people started coming, there was an exponential increase, and then again especially after the Tories announced that they would abolish the non-dom agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another wave of interest is now emerging from the Gulf, Arton says. \u201cItaly is quick at processing applications. So it is mainly attracting people leaving the region who want to relocate to Europe who want the benefit of the flat tax and the quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The influx of a new, wealthy community is already driving up prices in Milan. Property prices have risen by 38% over the past five years, according to research by the estate agent Knight Frank.<\/p>\n

Milan has recently overtaken Venice as the most expensive city in Italy, with an average price of \u20ac5,171 per sq metre in November 2025, according to the Italian property portal Idealista. The increases are even sharper in some of the most sought-after areas, such as Sant\u2019Ambrogio, Brera, San Marco or the Cinque Vie, near the Duomo.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Cinque Vie, near the Milan\u2019s famed Duomo is among the most sought after areas of city.<\/span> Photograph: rudi1976\/Alamy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Giorgolo estimates that there are now between 30% and 40% more international buyers in the market than just two years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore, international buyers were looking for a second home in Milan, or perhaps Lake Como, but now they are looking for residency in Italy. They want to be close to good international schools and major airports.\u201d<\/p>\n

Return of the brains<\/h2>\n

Other tax breaks include Il<\/em> rientro dei cervelli<\/em> (\u201cReturn of the brains\u201d), which allows new or returning residents of Italy who meet certain criteria to pay tax on only 50% of their income for five years. Some bigger reductions are available for some residents.<\/p>\n

But the million-dollar question is whether there is a ceiling on Italy\u2019s flat-tax regime, Bonomi says, which has risen from \u20ac100,000 in 2017 to \u20ac200,000 in 2024, and to \u20ac300,000 at the start of this year. \u201cThe Italian government said they wanted to increase the flat tax because they want to build the country \u2013 we do not want unfair competition against other countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are still questions about how far Italy can push its advantage. Last year the former French prime minister Fran\u00e7ois Bayrou accused Italy of \u201ctax dumping\u201d, claims that Meloni dismissed as \u201cutterly baseless\u201d.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Milan\u2019s Via Monte Napoleone has overtaken New York\u2019s Upper Fifth Avenue as the world\u2019s most expensive shopping street.<\/span> Photograph: Gabriel Bouys\/AFP\/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the meantime, life is changing fast in Milan. Like Dubai, galleries, members\u2019 clubs and hotels are proliferating: the Italian government cut VAT on sales and imports of artworks from 22% to 5%, one of the lowest rates in Europe, prompting galleries such as Thaddaeus Ropac to expand in the city. In 2024, the upscale Via Monte Napoleone overtook New York\u2019s Upper Fifth Avenue<\/a> as the world\u2019s most expensive shopping streets. It ceded the top spot to London\u2019s Bond Street last April, though its pedestrianisation in May means it is primed to regain the top spot this year.<\/p>\n

Brands are following the fresh wave of money, including new outposts for the private members\u2019 clubs Casa Cipriani and Soho House.<\/p>\n

The same shifts are unfolding in Rome too, Giorgolo adds. A Rosewood and Four Seasons hotel are due to open in 2026 and 2027 respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe expat community has brought a lot of changes to Milan as well as Rome,\u201d she says. \u201cMilan has always been an international city during big fairs like fashion week, but now it\u2019s about the expats actually living here and reshaping the city year-round.\u201d<\/p>\n

But whether the city will be able to dethrone Dubai<\/a> as the centre for the global elite remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m positive Dubai will rebound from the current question of doubt around security,\u201d Arton says. \u201cIt may no longer check the box for everyone, but there will still be certain groups that find Dubai very attractive because there are simply not many other places in the world that offer the same mix of opportunity and quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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