UK uncompetitive for the super-rich
UK uncompetitive for the super-rich
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s1962a

Original Poster:

6,915 posts

181 months

Yesterday (14:24)
quotequote all
https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/britains-richest-fle...

article said:
In June, Henley & Partners forecast that the UK will lose 16,500 high-net-worth individuals this year, more than any other country.

The non-dom removal, alongside a 40 per cent rate of inheritance tax and a capital gains tax raise in autumn 2024 from 20 per cent to 24 per cent, has meant wealthy families "feel they have almost no choice but to leave", Mr Ferringo said.
Good riddance I say, who needs wealthy people sticking around your country anyway? We can plug the tax hole they leave by increasing income tax to 45% for anyone earning £75k and above, and doubling council tax for anyone that is a homeowner. Happy days and welcome to pro-growth UK.


FNG

4,563 posts

243 months

Yesterday (14:38)
quotequote all
You have to admit, though, that it'll result in more people having the same amount of money - and that's clearly fairer, especially on those unfortunate not to have much.

Remember, high earners are only there because of the hard work and sweat of the low earners they employ. So it's only right that they should be taxed more so that in the end we are all on a level playing field.

98elise

30,637 posts

180 months

Yesterday (14:45)
quotequote all
FNG said:
You have to admit, though, that it'll result in more people having the same amount of money - and that's clearly fairer, especially on those unfortunate not to have much.

Remember, high earners are only there because of the hard work and sweat of the low earners they employ. So it's only right that they should be taxed more so that in the end we are all on a level playing field.
Not sure is serious?

Defcon5

6,446 posts

210 months

Yesterday (14:47)
quotequote all
Do any of these forecasts of doom come to fruition? Does anyone ever check?

Sport_Turismo_GTS

2,808 posts

48 months

Yesterday (14:47)
quotequote all
98elise said:
FNG said:
You have to admit, though, that it'll result in more people having the same amount of money - and that's clearly fairer, especially on those unfortunate not to have much.

Remember, high earners are only there because of the hard work and sweat of the low earners they employ. So it's only right that they should be taxed more so that in the end we are all on a level playing field.
Not sure is serious?
I am sure they’re not serious.

butchstewie

61,638 posts

229 months

Yesterday (14:47)
quotequote all
s1962a said:
Good riddance I say, who needs wealthy people sticking around your country anyway? We can plug the tax hole they leave by increasing income tax to 45% for anyone earning £75k and above, and doubling council tax for anyone that is a homeowner. Happy days and welcome to pro-growth UK.
Does seem to be a marked difference between the likes of the US where success is welcomed encourage and rewarded and the UK where it often seems the view is one of jealousy resentment and "if you make it we will take it from you".

Being pro-growth is a mindset and a culture not a slogan you simply repeat over and over.

FNG

4,563 posts

243 months

Yesterday (14:48)
quotequote all
98elise said:
Not sure is serious?
They are - I'm not.

But am trying to shine a light on their thinking, cos if I'm convinced of anything it's that this isn't incompetence, it's intentional - and the intent is to destroy SMEs, the middle classes and the housing market by the end of this parliamentary term.

OTT maybe but we are well beyond the scope of them being useless at every turn.

MrBogSmith

4,038 posts

53 months

Yesterday (14:48)
quotequote all
I'm taking advice around this at the moment.

Anecdotally, the firms I've spoken to who specialise in helping people move say they have never been so busy. One said they've helped 100 individuals / businesses move this year which they estimate to be £1 billion lost to the treasury.







Mrr T

14,278 posts

284 months

Yesterday (15:09)
quotequote all
s1962a said:
https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/britains-richest-fle...

article said:
In June, Henley & Partners forecast that the UK will lose 16,500 high-net-worth individuals this year, more than any other country.

The non-dom removal, alongside a 40 per cent rate of inheritance tax and a capital gains tax raise in autumn 2024 from 20 per cent to 24 per cent, has meant wealthy families "feel they have almost no choice but to leave", Mr Ferringo said.
Good riddance I say, who needs wealthy people sticking around your country anyway? We can plug the tax hole they leave by increasing income tax to 45% for anyone earning £75k and above, and doubling council tax for anyone that is a homeowner. Happy days and welcome to pro-growth UK.
The report that keeps on giving or may just be rubbish.
https://taxpolicy.org.uk/2025/07/27/henley-partner...


John D.

19,720 posts

228 months

Yesterday (15:12)
quotequote all
I'm sure Henley & Partners is completely impartial without an axe to grind on this topic.

GetCarter

30,416 posts

298 months

Yesterday (15:16)
quotequote all
Defcon5 said:
Do any of these forecasts of doom come to fruition? Does anyone ever check?
No. They don't. It's just the usual BS spouted to frighten people.

Apparently millionaires were all going to leave when Labour came into power.

Guess how many left?

0.3 of the 3,600,000.

Which is the same that left under the Tories.

It's all crap. Ignore it.

https://taxjustice.net/press/millionaire-exodus-di...

768

18,156 posts

115 months

Yesterday (15:18)
quotequote all
Defcon5 said:
Do any of these forecasts of doom come to fruition? Does anyone ever check?
If you don't trust the Henley data, or that half of PH seem to know people emigrating, look at GDP per capita, look at Companies House stats on incorporated companies. The wealth's going somewhere.

S600BSB

6,915 posts

125 months

Yesterday (15:19)
quotequote all
I’m off.

DanL

6,553 posts

284 months

Yesterday (15:27)
quotequote all
If the only thing keeping someone in the UK is a low tax environment, they’d already be living elsewhere. So, there’s clearly more to it than that, no?

As a result, I’m sure some will leave - others won’t, and I’d be surprised if there was a wholesale exodus.

bloomen

8,733 posts

178 months

Yesterday (15:35)
quotequote all
I'll assume those 'millionaire' numbers are pretty standard. Tens of thousands will come and go every year.

And I'll also assume that most millionaires these days are normal people. All you have to do to be one is be old, buy a property in the right region and keep a decent job for long enough.

The more interesting metric would be rich people arriving. It's not looking like a hugely tempting location right now.

The truly wealthy are clients of a government or jurisdiction, not peons to be drained. If they don't get a good deal, they'll shop elsewhere without blinking.

Those who'd drive them away are more than a little dim. They may be a bit odourous and create bad optics, but they are a net positive.

Edited by bloomen on Friday 14th November 15:38

sparta6

3,988 posts

119 months

Yesterday (16:42)
quotequote all
s1962a said:
Good riddance I say, who needs wealthy people sticking around your country anyway? We can plug the tax hole they leave by increasing income tax to 45% for anyone earning £75k and above, and doubling council tax for anyone that is a homeowner. Happy days and welcome to pro-growth UK.
biggrin
the UK has proven experts running the government

MCBrowncoat

1,413 posts

165 months

Yesterday (17:20)
quotequote all
s1962a said:
https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/britains-richest-fle...

article said:
In June, Henley & Partners forecast that the UK will lose 16,500 high-net-worth individuals this year, more than any other country.

The non-dom removal, alongside a 40 per cent rate of inheritance tax and a capital gains tax raise in autumn 2024 from 20 per cent to 24 per cent, has meant wealthy families "feel they have almost no choice but to leave", Mr Ferringo said.
Good riddance I say, who needs wealthy people sticking around your country anyway? We can plug the tax hole they leave by increasing income tax to 45% for anyone earning £75k and above, and doubling council tax for anyone that is a homeowner. Happy days and welcome to pro-growth UK.
Followed by about two minutes of googling to find that it's horsest

Gecko1978

12,040 posts

176 months

Yesterday (18:39)
quotequote all
DanL said:
If the only thing keeping someone in the UK is a low tax environment, they d already be living elsewhere. So, there s clearly more to it than that, no?

As a result, I m sure some will leave - others won t, and I d be surprised if there was a wholesale exodus.
For many it's not a case of won't but can't. 2 friends have left in last 12 months 1 to dubai the other the US. I want to leave the wife won't despite spending 10 days a month overseas with her work. We have kids in school etc but I really want to leave. Spent 2 years in Singapore 2013 to 2015 and just saw a better life (from my perspective it would not be for everyone). I have visited dubai and spoken to colleagues out there again appeals to me.

So I suspect people who can an want to leave will. Those that's don't mostly will be a can't leave. If you have a couple of restaurants or a building business you aren't leaving and are just getting hit with tax but that does not equate to wanting to stay.

M3333

2,301 posts

233 months

Yesterday (18:59)
quotequote all
Labour's ideological crusade against "the rich" isn't just virtue-signalling—it's economic suicide. Every tax hike on high earners, every clampdown on private equity, every threat of wealth taxes and capital flight penalties is driving wealth creators, entrepreneurs, and investors out of the UK faster than you can say "non-dom exodus."

These aren't faceless billionaires sipping champagne in tax havens—they're the people who start businesses, create jobs, fund startups, and pay a disproportionate chunk of the tax take. When they leave (and they *are* leaving—look at the record numbers relocating to Dubai, Switzerland, Singapore), the revenue doesn't magically reappear. It vanishes.

Guess who picks up the tab? **Not the millionaires who've already gone.** It's the middle class—squeezed with higher income taxes, frozen thresholds, and stealth taxes on pensions. It's the working class—hit with rising council taxes, fuel duty, and the inevitable VAT hikes to plug the black hole.

Labour's cheering lefties love to crow about "making the rich pay their fair share," but they never ask: **what happens when the rich just... leave?** The top 1% already pay nearly 30% of all income tax. Chase them away, and that burden shifts downward. Fast.

The irony? When public services crumble, when waiting lists grow, when benefits get cut to balance the books—the very people who applauded the rich-bashing will be the ones screaming loudest. Maybe *then* they'll learn the lesson: **you can't tax prosperity into existence, and you can't punish success without punishing everyone.**

The only silver lining? This might finally be the wake-up call the ideologues need. When the money's gone and the bill lands on *their* doorstep, even the most fervent class warrior might finally understand basic economics.

Thoughts? Or are we just sleepwalking into a low-growth, high-tax dystopia?

Mazinbrum

1,116 posts

197 months

Yesterday (19:04)
quotequote all
butchstewie said:
s1962a said:
Good riddance I say, who needs wealthy people sticking around your country anyway? We can plug the tax hole they leave by increasing income tax to 45% for anyone earning £75k and above, and doubling council tax for anyone that is a homeowner. Happy days and welcome to pro-growth UK.
Does seem to be a marked difference between the likes of the US where success is welcomed encourage and rewarded and the UK where it often seems the view is one of jealousy resentment and "if you make it we will take it from you".

Being pro-growth is a mindset and a culture not a slogan you simply repeat over and over.
The US is hardly a country to aspire to be like.