Free Republic

Locals had criticised the previous tax rules after rich expats buying property in Italy sent house prices spiking. Italy's government has approved an increase in the annual flat tax applied to income earned abroad by new fiscal residents in Italy. The annual fixed fee will jump to €200,000, from the current total of €100,000. Unpopular among locals, the tax arrangement is informally known as the "billionaires" tax or "the footballers scheme" - it is credited with attracting thousands of multi-millionaires to Italy. One high-profile individual who benefited from the system was Portuguese football player Cristiano Ronaldo, who moved to Turin...

Bookshops across Italy are refusing to stock a new book written by the son of one of the country's most notorious Mafia bosses. Signs have appeared in store windows from Sicily to Milan advising customers that the book - called Riina Family Life - won't be found on the shelves and can't be ordered either. It's written by Giuseppe Salvatore Riina, whose father, Toto, is serving multiple life sentences for murder. On Wednesday, state broadcaster Rai provoked outrage by airing an interview with the younger Riina, himself a convicted mobster. The first sign was posted in the Sicilian city of...