Bloggs 2 - thanks for that. I was indeed looking in the wrong place. Nonetheless, I am sticking to my guns! I have had very direct contact to discuss the matter and it is quite apparent that no one knows with any certainty exactly how much will be taken home in Italy once tax is paid. In the document to which you referred me, the quoted net pay for an Italian-based captain earning a total of £79,338 was about £48,333. This came with big warnings saying it was valid for April 2006 and could not be considered guaranteed. Also, no details of how this figure was arrived at was provided in terms of rates of Italian tax. Finally, the pay for a captain from Oct 06 will be nearer £88k using the same method of calculation for a 2-5 year captain, assuming 500 sectors per annum. I do not know the current euro exchange rate against sterling but I am sure interested parties can do their calcs.
The bottom line is that I am not an expert in this and feel a little out of my depth. No one has really 'pressed to test' yet with the Italian authorities and any quoted figures need to be treated with caution. I will therefore not contribute further to this debate and hope that someone with more insight than me will provide any other appropriate facts as required.