L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 8 FRANCESCA BEZZONE R egardles s of their age, Italians have one huge preoccupa- tion thes e days : retiring. With income taxes among the highest in Europe and pensions often just covering the costs of bare necessities, many citizens of the Bel Paese have been jumping on the private pension schemes' bandwagon, in an attempt to cre- ate a safer future for themselves and their families once the time to finally retire comes. H ow ever, things may be changing soon, at least if an interesting new proposal ends up being approved by the current Government which, however, has quite a lot on its plate at the moment. That is to say, let's not hold our breath waiting for a quick approval, because it may take a while. Nevertheless, the news are certainly a welcome change to the us ual talks of gloom and struggle we usually associate with the word pension- amento and, what's even more surprising, it may end up bene- fiting not only Italians but also people from abroad who have been toying with the idea of retiring under the Mediterranean sun. Lonely Planet has recently reported that La Lega, Italy's far-right populist movement cur- rently leading the Government along with Cinque Stelle, pro- posed to guarantee pensioners willing to relocate in selected regions a 10 year long tax break, with the aim of repopulating cer- tain areas of our South. The three regions chosen are Sicily, Cal- abria and Sardinia, beautiful for sure, but long struggling with economic issues and rampaging depopulation. The idea is to increase population rates by granting a 10 years tax break to retirees willing to relocate and live for at least 6 months and one day every year in one of the three trial regions. The hope is to get at least 600.000 people mov- ing to the South, to enhance economy and commerce, but also to bring life back in some of the many wonderful, but almost empty, villages of our Merid- ione. There are of course, a series of caveats: first of all, you can't just choose the town or the vil- lage you want. Indeed, only urban areas with less than 4000 inhabitants, and which have experienced a population decline of at least 20% in the past 10 years, are eligible. They must also have a good and well func- tioning health care system - com- parable to that of Northern regions such as Lombardia, Piemonte and Emilia Romagna - an up and running and efficient waste recycling system, safe streets and, possibly, they should also provide easy access to plen- ty of natural amenities. So, let's stick that idea of moving tax free to Palermo back into the drawer. Studies conducted to support the proposal claim that the aver- age retiree couple would spend and invest an average of 20.000 to 25.000 euro per year in the regions they move to (roughly between 23.400 and 29.000 USD), boosting local economy and potentially helping the area to improve commerce and employment: a small, but impor- tant first step towards bringing even more people to live and invest in the South. Retirees would not only enjoy the afore mentioned tax break, but would also have access to low-cost properties and, of course, would enjoy for life the nature, art, culture and food of three of the richest Italian regions when it comes to heritage, histo- ry and traditions. And although the project would be open also to Italians, it seems La Lega had especially foreign Italophiles in mind: "We think it could appeal to foreigners, as Italy is a beauti- ful country," said Salvini's eco- nomic advisor, Alberto Brambil- la, the mind behind the proposal itself. And Italian Americans could also add it would give to many of them the opportunity to return "home" and enjoy in free- dom, and with a bit more cash in their pocket, the places where their family history began. To be truthful, Brambilla did- n't come up with anything new, if you consider that Portugal and the Canary Islands have been successfully running a similar project for a number of years; in fact, La Lega openly declared it hopes to reduce dramatically the number of Italian pensioners moving to these Atlantic-kissed shores each year in name of the advantageous tax breaks put in place to attract retirees. "The tax break would not only be avail- able to countries like Germany, the UK and Sweden, which have already signed bilateral agree- ments with Portugal and Spain (for the Canaries), but also to all the countries our Foreign Affairs Ministry will contact," Brambilla explains. It seems, at least on paper, a win-win idea, but not everyone is convinced. The Basilicata repre- sentatives of UIL Pensionati, one of Italy's retirees' trade unions, recently declared that, in their region, the number of local pen- sioners moving abroad to enjoy a better quality of life with their pension money has been increas- ing and that, according to their data, at least 400.000 Italian pen- sioners relocated abroad - espe- cially in Portugal, the Canary Islands and Eastern Europe - to make more with their money and live more comfortably. So, is it a good idea or a use- less idea? Well, it may not be simple to implement, but it could provide a solution to some of Italy's most dramatic issues, that of depopula- tion and slow economy in the South, and that of Italian pen- sioners moving away from their own country. The examples of Portugal and Spain should lead the way and should stand as a vivid example of the fact that "it is possible. La Lega proposed a 10 year tax break to those pensioners, Italian and from abroad, willing to move to the South of Italy Retiring in Italy: it may no longer be only a dream NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS The regions chosen for the project are Sicily, Calabria and Sardegna, which are among the richest in history and herita- ge of the peninsula

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