Non-dom arrivals plunged as Labour prepared for power

Telegraph

17-07-2025

However, it came as opinion polls suggested Labour was on course to win power. Tax lawyers were already then warning of a drop in new inquiries from wealthy overseas clients considering a move to the UK amid Labour's plans to rip up the regime.
The fall in well-heeled newcomers also came as former Jeremy Hunt announced in March 2024 he would overhaul the scheme, after months of briefings.
Uncompetitive and unattractive
Phineas Hirsch, a partner at law firm Payne Hicks Beach, said the fall in new arrivals 'reflects the fact that the writing had been on the wall for some time'.
He added: 'Sadly, despite what the current Government has claimed, its tax reforms are not making Britain competitive or attractive.
'Not only are fewer of the world's super-rich coming to live in the UK; thousands are actively leaving – relocating to Italy, Switzerland, the UAE and other jurisdictions which have been introducing their own non-dom tax regimes, because they see the value in attracting inbound wealth and spending power.'
In total there were 73,700 non-doms living in the UK in the year to March 2024, roughly 400 fewer than the previous 12 months.
Despite the small decline, this group paid £9bn in tax – £107m more than the prior year.
The new figures come amid growing alarm that Rachel Reeves's changes have sparked an exodus of the wealthy from Britain.
The Chancellor went further than her predecessor by bringing people's global assets, including anything held in previously shielded offshore trusts, within scope of the UK's 40pc inheritance tax. This applies for a decade after the person leaves the UK.
High-profile departures
Ms Reeves is understood to be considering softening these more controversial rules to stem the flow of wealthy people packing up and leaving.
High-profile departures in the wake of the tax changes include Goldman Sachs' most senior banker outside the US Richard Gnodde and Aston Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris.
Reliable numbers on the scale of a potential wealth exodus will not become available until at least a year.
However, sales of luxury properties in London's wealthiest neighbourhoods have slumped. Wealth migration adviser Henley and Partners predicts the UK will lose more millionaires than any other country this year, projecting a fall of 16,500.
The HMRC analysis shows any exodus is likely to hit London the hardest. Some 58pc of non-doms live in the capital.