Green party leader: Super rich leaving UK over tax is ‘absurd’
https://news.sky.com/video/green-party-leader-super-rich-leaving-uk-over-tax-is-absurd-13475245
Posted by lotsofsweat
Green party leader: Super rich leaving UK over tax is ‘absurd’
https://news.sky.com/video/green-party-leader-super-rich-leaving-uk-over-tax-is-absurd-13475245
Posted by lotsofsweat
26 Comments
I think the real worry by those claiming the “Super Rich” will leave the UK is actually a worry that their biggest donors and financiers will leave the UK and gravy train will cease to run.
What’s telling is that the top earners have increased their wealth by unprecedented amounts in the last ten years.
So really what we are seeing is all the profits being accumulated by the wealthy, and then not being redistributed back into the system.
Unless there is something to stop all the wealth becoming concentrated with only the top minority, things will continue to get worse.
Not even the super rich
The £100k crowd are looking elsewhere. That’s the big issue.
As a country we shouldn’t be so beholden to the interests of those who are only here because they get to avoid contributing to our public services.
Maybe some of them will leave – maybe even all of them will – but if they do that just shows they don’t actually care about the country they currently live in so why should we try to appease them?
Learn from Norway
https://www.reuters.com/business/norways-wealth-tax-trades-millionaires-equality-2025-11-24/
You can’t put in a wealth tax without first making sure there is a punitive exit tax in place.
Its not just the super rich. The normal average young person is looking abroad. I know so many, in our family and friends group, 18-15 year olds who are in the process of actively looking to leave. Other European and commonwealth countries are far more appealing and have a much better quality of life and future prospects.
One thing I don’t like about the Greens is that this is a serious issue they dismiss. Super rich don’t pay as much tax as they are suppose to, but they still pay a lot of tax. If we increase taxes on them too much, they will just leave and we won’t get anything.
This is why I’m in favour of a land value and luxury goods tax. This way, even if you move, you want a fancy flat in central London with a Ferrari. You have to pay tax on it you can’t really avoid.
There is a reason sweeping wealth taxes on residents doesn’t exist in many countries, because it doesn’t raise a lot of money and makes people leave.
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People are utterly brainwashed. You live in a £3m house, will have to pay £2,500 a year in extra council tax, and you’re leaving the UK because you’re angry with the government?
If super rich people are serious about this good luck to them
Just shows how much momentum Zach has got by doing three things
Saying actually some of us in the country don’t blame the world’s problems on immigration
That affordability is the biggest worry people have they’re seeing the cost shift dramatically for their foods
And that a wealth tax to claw back some of the funny money during covid that popped up for the wealthiest is probably a good way to help everyone that’s in work rather than stealth taxes by freezing income rates even as inflation costs rise a lot and outpace meager wage rises
That’s why he keeps getting headlines now. Because someone needed to occupy that left populist space and not be a bigot
Was listening to an accountant on the radio who deals with the “Super Rich” when pressed it turned out it was “Love Islanders” and “Influencers” all wanting to move to Dubai and Cypress.
Where are the vocal crowed who moan about migrants sending money out lf the country? When they do its really bad for us but when the super rich English guy does it becomes “yeah good for them, stick it to the government”
Ask France how it went for them.
They introduced a “Wealth Tax” in 2012. They introduced a 75% income tax on earnings over €1 million.
They dropped in 2014.
Some left, many just found work arounds.
In 2013 it raised an extra €260 million and €160 million in 2014.
We should just give them a statue and seize their assets. Congrats you won capitalism, here’s a statue to commemorate your achievement, thanks for our wealth back.
Glad someone is saying it.
Cause yeah if your living an incredibly comfortable life, with social groups, your family, kids in a good school, membership at soho House, ect are you gonna give up it all up for slug and lettuce Dubai. No you’ve built that wealth so you can enjoy that life.
Sure a few folk might actually have their brains broken and pull their kid away from their friends and pals, for no material difference to their life, but that’s not the majority.
The reality is most expats to low tax countries are course sellers in rented audis and estate agents who are LinkedIn pilled.
Heck the big example: Herman narula, who’s been all over the papers, isn’t leaving because the UK isn’t a good place to do business: it’s that after a lot of UK govt funds and tax breaks all he has to show for it is half a billion dollars in losses and a company that’s been dying since a failed pivot to crypto.
Same with the apparent exodus in Spain of the super rich but it never happened
If these people who have gotten ridiculously richer over the past ten years would rather leave the uk than pay their fair share (not that they are taxed enough) then it just proves to me that they are traitors
Where will the billionaires move to? Do they really want to uproot their entire lives just to not pay a bit more tax? Surely that would cost them more than just staying? Surely they won’t be as happy living somewhere that doesn’t have English as a first language?
That’s people earning 650k or more. Not “super-rich”.
Has anyone actually got a Super Tax that could work?
When you get past a certain level of wealth, one assumes you’ll have tax and wealth management to keep a grip on it as fiercely as possible.
I’d be less concerned about them upping sticks and moving and more concerned with “will it consistently work and generate the revenue it was designed to get?”
Of course, we should definitely try *something* rather than being total wet blankets about it but, seemingly, that’s not Labour, certainly not Reform or Tories and Greens, as much as people want them to have power, I don’t think will be able to pull it off due to FPTP.
We need to be better at taxing companies who can avoid/evade paying tax on their earnings by using different loopholes, e.g. borrowing money from a sister company in a lower taxed region/country and then making no profit as paying back a loan etc. which is just transfer of money back to the same company in another country who can pay 1% or 0% tax.
The companies who are doing this are already “out” and are multinational but unconstrained by disjointed government because there is always somewhere they can go who will let them in and pay peanuts tax.
Billionaires are a red herring, they don’t block up the NHS, claim benefits, or anything else other than live here (some of the time when not on their superyacht) – so going for them is irrelevant and their money is probably offshore from the moment they earn it. They become rich from the companies they own/run not paying taxes fairly – however, everyone doesn’t stop buying on Amazon or from Starbucks in protest – so who is also to blame?
Tax the actual RICH, not the top earners. If it’s that absurd to you then you’re clearly not ready to lead the country. 40% tax if you’re making 50k is more absurd to me. Why the hell would you expect professionals stay in the UK when the country is clearly beholden to populists and their radical voters who don’t have your best interests at heart.
The super wealthy *love* to tell the poors that they will absolutely all leave if they have to pay any tax increase. And everyone gets scared and gives them more benefits to stay. Its just a big con.
it’s not just the rich, the young British poor and middle class are also leaving
Yeah it was a generalisation where i should have highlighted that they shouldn’t care because say 5m still maintains the exact same lifestyle and privilege thats in a different league to everyone else.
They do care because thats atypically how they measure worth via wealth acquisition. It’s like a hoarding disease.
Its that age old question of how much is enough? When is enough = enough before greed
I don’t understand taxing the rich/businesses and they’ll leave.
Company X is making millions or billions and does all kinds of clever tricks to reduce their tax bill.
Company X then threatens to leave if loopholes are closed.
People argue we can’t let them leave but realistically isn’t it better for Company X to make their millions rather than nothing at all?
Surely it’s better to have 80% of the pie than no slices at all.
Maybe they don’t want to share their pie at all and would rather go without than see others enjoy it?
Maybe I don’t understand economics at a non poor person level.