[melissajohn718]

why is the separation of electron from the neutral atom require less energy than the separation of electron from the anion?

[Ak]

removing an electron from an anion is referred to as second ionization energy...
when your trying to remove an electron from a positively charged ion the electrostatic attraction between + and - makes it more difficult to pull an electron away from a positively charge ion than a neutral atom

edit: my bad i was thinking cations

[Guitarmaniac86]

why is the separation of electron from the neutral atom require less energy than the separation of electron from the anion?

Im going to guess that the anion has a stable octet and thus would require more energy to remove the electron from it. I could be wrong though.

[Borek]

why is the separation of electron from the neutral atom require less energy than the separation of electron from the anion?

Generally speaking - it doesn't.