Nigel Farage's Robin Hood tax is nothing more than a gimmick
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has set out an ambitious plan to turn Britain back into a global hub for the mega-rich and bring back all the entrepreneurs who have fled. Even better, he claims his proposals will raise money to help the low-paid.
But what looks too good to be true often is. As ever, there's a catch: the scheme will create as many problems as it will fix – and it looks like another example of fantasy economics from Reform.
As it prepares for a potential Farage-run government, Reform is finally starting to set out some genuine policies.
This week it will unveil a bold plan for bringing back the non-doms. Its 'Britannia card' will offer the world's wealthy, as well as returning tax exiles, a very attractive deal. In return for a £250,000 payment they will be exempt their offshore income from UK taxes for 10 years and to shield them from inheritance taxes for two decades.
The money raised will be used to fund a dividend paid to the lowest earning 10pc of workers, estimated at £600 to £1,000 a year paid directly into their bank accounts. The 'Robin Hood' tax will raise lots of money from the rich and transfer it to the poor. It is, at least according to the always-upbeat Farage, a win-win for everyone.
Of course, there are lots of good points to be made about the Reform plan. The seeming Tory-Labour consensus that the non-doms were a problem has finally been shattered. Farage quite rightly recognises that the exodus of non-doms has drained money, wealth and jobs out of London and elsewhere, and that has turned into a real problem.
Likewise, the UK will need to find a way of tempting back all the entrepreneurs who have flooded out of the UK since the catastrophic Labour Budget last October.
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