The only way to justify policy when it does the opposite of that which is intended is to say it’s the sort of thing people like us do.
The government is driving away those who pump in billions for public services (Image: Getty Images)
What does it say about a country when its wealthiest are leaving in droves? When these ‘have yachts’ are prepared to sell up, move families from their luxurious homes and children from their schools simply to get away? And before any of you nurture the misguided and negative notion of suggesting we bid them all good riddance and label them as tax dodgers, bear in mind in 2023 – the last year for which full figures are available — these so called “non-doms“ paid £8.9 billion in tax into the country.
That’s a lot of nurses, teachers and police officers. And that is precisely the sort of amount of cash that will be lost to the Treasury now the government’s ill-conceived attack on the non-domicile tax status came into force last Monday. Until then wealthy foreigners paid an annual fee of £30,000, but now their worldwide assets will be taxed at 40% — among the highest on the planet.
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This Marxist doctrine style attack has helped London lose the highest proportion of millionaires anywhere in the world, save for Moscow, all of whom were paying vast amounts in UK tax on their multi-million salaries, and also in many instances were launching businesses, employing staff and creating wealth. Yes, they employ highly skilled tax lawyers and accountants but the tax take is still vast and to be counted in the billions, and remember it was only tax on GLOBAL earnings they were able to minimise.
A survey by Oxford Economics showed each non-dom paid an average of £800,000 in VAT in 2024 alone. But it is drearily predictable that the green-eyed monster of jealousy that often lurks dangerously near the surface of any Labour government drives such a policy.
These fiscal incompetents blithely ignore the facts that these supposed ‘super rich’ employ staff such as drivers and housekeepers, use our restaurants and stores, and often spend like drunken sailors on Navy Day. To quote the flamboyant potter Grayson Perry — admittedly not a regular source of inspiration — but who eloquently summed it up:”Obviously I love the super rich, because they buy my work. Where the f*** do you think the money is coming from?”
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Then there’s the hugely significant charity sector which will also lose out on countless billions as often the overseas tax these people saved was directed to worthy causes, many of them in Perry’s world of the arts. And before any of you chorus the line the rich should pay more in tax, bear this in mind. Already the top one per cent of earners pay 29% of our tax take, and the richest 10% account for TEN PERCENT.
Meanwhile, as we drive the rich from our shores other nations are smart enough to offer a welcoming embrace. In the US and Dubai there are ‘Golden Visas’ that can be bought by foreign investors and Italy has announced it will accept an annual fee of 200,000€ to provide financial security.
But depressingly in the UK we seem to continue to dance to the tune of ‘Who Wants To Flee … A Millionaire!’
