Reeves put on the back foot after exodus of non-doms
The Independent|January 20, 2025
Labour has been accused of trying to have it both ways as Rachel Reeves jets off to Davos to try to attract foreign investment while new figures show a millionaire leaves the country every 45 minutes.
KATE DEVLIN
Reeves put on the back foot after exodus of non-doms

The chancellor will travel to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort this week hoping to attract overseas cash to the UK. But shadow chancellor Mel Stride accused her of “trying to drum up investment whilst her own tax sprees have discouraged exactly that”.

The exodus of millionaires has been blamed on the party’s crackdown on non-doms, a form of tax status for well-off foreign nationals living in Britain, and tax hikes in the Budget.

The figures, compiled by the analytics firm New World Wealth, show that Britain lost a net 10,800 millionaires last year, a 157 per cent increase on 2023, including 78 centi-millionaires (worth at least £100m) and 12 billionaires.

Rachel de Souza, a tax partner at auditing company RSM UK, said the demand for relocation advice was being driven by those with non-dom status before October’s Budget and entrepreneurs afterwards.

It follows a difficult start to the year for Ms Reeves after market turmoil led to warnings she must either cut spending or hike taxes to meet her own fiscal rules. Labour was also forced to hit back at Elon Musk after the billionaire and Donald Trump ally claimed “very few” businesses want to invest in the UK.

This story is from the January 20, 2025 edition of The Independent.

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This story is from the January 20, 2025 edition of The Independent.

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