Spain, Tunisia, Romania and Albania: the tax eldorado of Italian pensioners
In the last four years, with no more tax incentives, the flow to Portugal has dropped
The number of Italian pensioners moving abroad is growing. The latest data are contained in the memorandum filed by the Inps after the hearing in the Senate Finance Committee on the Ddl proposing tax incentives for the return of pensioners to Italy.From 2018 to 2025, the Inps notes, there has been a growth in the number of Italian pensioners who, having accrued the requirements exclusively in Italia, have moved abroad after their last contribution and receive their pension payments abroad. This phenomenon is particularly evident in the direction of EU countries, and compensates for the slight reduction in the stock of those receiving payment in non-EU countries.
Favourite Countries
Inps then draws a map of the countries chosen by pensioners. Noting how in the last eight years there has been a notable reshuffling of the preferred destinations, mainly due to changes in economic convenience, probably attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates and the consequent cost of living in the various host countries, or to the adoption by some of them of particularly favourable tax policies (towards pensioners or, more generally, anyone who decides to move).While there has been a 40% reduction in pensioners receiving payment in the United States of America, and more than 50% in Australia and Canada, there has been very significant growth (+75%) in Spain (which is now by far the preferred destination), Portugal (+144%) and Tunisia (+255%).
The Portugal Case
In particular, Portugal recorded exponential growth from 2018 to 2021 (+172%), but as the incentives came to an end it reduced its attractiveness, leading to a decrease in the number of our compatriots retired in the following four years (-11%). In contrast, Spain and Tunisia continue to record steady growth. Some destinations on the eastern shore of the Adriatic, such as Romania and Albania, are also emerging (although they are not yet among the most important countries).
Incentives for re-entry
In order to reverse this trend, the INPS assesses positively a regulatory intervention aimed at repopulating the internal areas of the country, especially with attention to small municipalities. As for the overall financial effects, according to the institute, the proposed law on tax incentives for pensioners to return to Italia does not have a negative impact on public finance. 'The positive effects on revenues determined by the facilitated taxation of the incomes of persons who decide to return to Italy, as a result of the rule and who would not have returned in the absence of this regulatory provision,' writes the INPS, 'appear more than adequate to offset any modest negative effects on the tendential'.
