The new Labour government could be on the verge of doing the Mallorcan real estate sector a major favour because thousands of wealthy individuals are expected to leave the country in the next four years if Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves does ahead with taxing the rich. Some 500,000 millionaires will leave the U.K. by 2028, according to UBS’s latest Global Wealth Report, equivalent to a 17% fall, leaving questions about the U.K. and London’s position as a haven for the global elite.
The election of a Labour government is expected to bring higher capital gains tax, which primarily affects the wealthy, while the scrapping of favorable tax breaks for controversial “non-doms” may encourage others to leave. Plus, a top-flight British education used to be a big attraction, but the plan to impose VAT on private school fees will jeopardise that.
Paul Donovan, Chief Economist of UBS Global Wealth Management, said the shift away from Britain partly reflected the fact that, with the third highest number of millionaires, its figure was currently “disproportionately high.”The
“You have obviously seen in the U.K. over the last few years, as you have seen in other countries, implications arising from sanctions against Russia,“ he told a press conference. Donovan said Britain’s decision to scrap its “non-dom” status - which lets wealthy, often foreign residents avoid tax on overseas income - had also had a “small effect.”