6 hours Ago By Archie Mitchell
Rachel Reeves is watering down her tax raid on non-doms after it contributed to an exodus of millionaires from the UK . The chancellor is to amend some of the changes to tax rules for non-domiciled individuals announced in October’s Budget. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos , Ms Reeves said the government will table an amendment to the finance bill to address some of the concerns raised by non-doms.
She told Wall Street Journal editor Emma Tucker: “We have been listening to the concerns that have been raised by the non-dom community.” One planned change will be to expand the temporary repatriation facility, which lets non-doms bring income and capital gains into the UK with a minimal tax bill. And the chancellor offered reassurance to non-doms worried about becoming liable for double taxation, adding: “There’s been some concerns from countries that have double taxation conventions with the UK, including India, that they would be drawn into paying inheritance tax.
“That’s not the case: we are not going to be changing those double-taxation conventions.” A Treasury source told The Times : “We’re always interested in hearing ideas for making our tax regime more attractive to talented entrepreneurs and business leaders from around the world to help create jobs and wealth in the UK.” The non-dom tax loophole, which lets foreign nationals living in Britain avoid paying tax on overseas earnings, was thrust into the spotlight when The Independent first revealed that Akshata Murty, Rishi Sunak’s wife, had used it to save potentially millions of pounds.
Ms Murty, whose family business is estimated to be worth around £60bn, later said she would no longer claim the status on her worldwide earnings. At the time, she said she did not want her tax status to be a “distraction for my husband or to affect my family”. Since Labour came to power in July, the UK has lost a millionaire every 45 minutes, with the exodus driven by Labour’s tax grabs and a lack of business confidence.
Britain lost a net 10,800 millionaires last year, a 157 per cent increase on 2023, including 78 centi-millionaires (worth at least £100 million) and 12 billionaires. They left for other countries mainly in Europe, such as Italy and Switzerland, as well as the United Arab Emirates. The figures, compiled by the analytics firm New World Wealth, show the exodus sped up after the general election was called and that since then a ‘dollar millionaire’ has left Britain every 45 minutes.
Tax planners have repeatedly warned of an exodus of Britain’s super wealthy, with many blaming the impact of Ms Reeves’ first Budget in October. Adam Smith Institute (ASI) research showed that each of the millionaires who left Britain last year would have paid at least £393,957 in income tax per year. The free market think tank said one millionaire’s tax payment is equivalent to that of 49 average taxpayers, meaning the millionaire exodus is comparable to 529,200 average taxpayers leaving the country.
The Treasury has been asked to comment..
