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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Exodus of ultra-wealthy from UK triggers fine wine boom in Dubai
An exodus of wealthy Britons to the Middle East has triggered a boom in Dubai's fine wine market, Bonhams has said. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has benefited from a rapid influx of rich Westerners in recent years, bringing with them their demand for expensive drinks – despite tight rules on consuming alcohol in the region. Amayès Aouli, head of wine and spirits at Bonhams, said: 'Dubai and the wider Middle East are rapidly becoming important players in the global fine wine ecosystem – not simply in terms of bulk consumption, but as centres for high-value storage, investment, and private collecting.' Soaring taxes have been blamed for accelerating an exodus of the ultra-rich from Britain, as well as Rachel Reeves's recent clampdown on non-dom residents that stripped thousands of UK residents of tax benefits. Among those to have left are the billionaire property investor brothers Ian and Richard Livingstone, who moved their official residence to Monaco, and Goldman Sachs banker Richard Gnodde, who relocated to Milan. The billionaire media mogul Richard Desmond, meanwhile, secured a 'golden visa' for Dubai last year. The Adam Smith Institute has suggested Ms Reeves's crackdown could cost Britain upwards of £10bn per year as the decline of billionaires drags on the Treasury's revenues. The UK was expected to lose almost 10,000 millionaires in 2024, while the UAE was expected to gain almost 7,000, according to the private wealth firm Henley & Partners. Inquiries about moving abroad from the UK jumped by 183pc in the first three months of 2025, the firm has also estimated. Dubai, conversely, has become increasingly appealing to the wealthy because it does not charge income tax. Mr Aouli added: 'This influx brings with it an appetite for global luxury, including fine wine, whether for personal enjoyment, entertaining, hospitality or long-term investment.' Sales of alcohol in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Oman have nearly doubled in value since the pandemic and are on course to reach more than $1bn (£742m) in 2025, according to industry experts at IWSR. The UAE is also a hub for duty-free sales of wine and spirits, which were just shy of $600m (£446m) last year. Cru Wines, a London-headquartered fine wine and spirits firm, recently opened an outpost in Dubai to cater to its expat community. Gregory Swartberg, the company's chief executive, said: 'Huge numbers have come over and they obviously want to get together to drink nice wines. It's a lot of non-doms, who obviously do not qualify [for some UK tax benefits] any more.' The company does not retail wines direct to customers in the UAE, but works with clients to manage their collections and source wines for them. Only two companies are officially allowed to distribute alcohol. Alcohol consumption is legal in the UAE, which is governed under Sharia law, but is heavily regulated. Non-Muslim residents over the age of 21 are allowed to drink in their homes, but they have to apply for a licence to be able to do so. Alcohol can be sold in licensed restaurants, bars and hotels – but drinking in public is strictly prohibited and can result in severe fines and even imprisonment. Mr Aouli said: 'Licensing procedures, restrictions on marketing, and cultural sensitivities mean that success here requires patience, local relationships, and absolute regulatory compliance.' However, while demand is growing, Dubai this year reimposed a 30pc import tariff on alcohol that had previously been suspended for two years – raising the prospect of higher prices for consumers. Mr Swartberg said: 'I think people from London are a little bit annoyed at the prices of wines in restaurants here. That's definitely a strong negative.' Last week, officials in Saudi Arabia were forced to deny that the Kingdom was planning to lift a 73-year ban on sales of alcohol, after reports emerged suggesting that it would do so to boost tourism ahead of the 2034 World Cup. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Exodus of ultra-wealthy from UK triggers fine wine boom in Dubai
An exodus of wealthy Britons to the Middle East has triggered a boom in Dubai's fine wine market, Bonhams has said. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has benefited from a rapid influx of rich Westerners in recent years, bringing with them their demand for expensive drinks – despite tight rules on consuming alcohol in the region. Amayès Aouli, head of wine and spirits at Bonhams, said: 'Dubai and the wider Middle East are rapidly becoming important players in the global fine wine ecosystem – not simply in terms of bulk consumption, but as centres for high-value storage, investment, and private collecting.' Soaring taxes have been blamed for accelerating an exodus of the ultra-rich from Britain, as well as Rachel Reeves's recent clampdown on non-dom residents that stripped thousands of UK residents of tax benefits. Among those to have left are the billionaire property investor brothers Ian and Richard Livingstone, who moved their official residence to Monaco, and Goldman Sachs banker Richard Gnodde, who relocated to Milan. The billionaire media mogul Richard Desmond, meanwhile, secured a 'golden visa' for Dubai last year. The Adam Smith Institute has suggested Ms Reeves's crackdown could cost Britain upwards of £10bn per year as the decline of billionaires drags on the Treasury's revenues. The UK was expected to lose almost 10,000 millionaires in 2024, while the UAE was expected to gain almost 7,000, according to the private wealth firm Henley & Partners. Inquiries about moving abroad from the UK jumped by 183pc in the first three months of 2025, the firm has also estimated. Dubai, conversely, has become increasingly appealing to the wealthy because it does not charge income tax. Mr Aouli added: 'This influx brings with it an appetite for global luxury, including fine wine, whether for personal enjoyment, entertaining, hospitality or long-term investment.' Sales of alcohol in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Oman have nearly doubled in value since the pandemic and are on course to reach more than $1bn (£742m) in 2025, according to industry experts at IWSR. The UAE is also a hub for duty-free sales of wine and spirits, which were just shy of $600m (£446m) last year. Cru Wines, a London-headquartered fine wine and spirits firm, recently opened an outpost in Dubai to cater to its expat community. Gregory Swartberg, the company's chief executive, said: 'Huge numbers have come over and they obviously want to get together to drink nice wines. It's a lot of non-doms, who obviously do not qualify [for some UK tax benefits] any more.' The company does not retail wines direct to customers in the UAE, but works with clients to manage their collections and source wines for them. Only two companies are officially allowed to distribute alcohol. Alcohol consumption is legal in the UAE, which is governed under Sharia law, but is heavily regulated. Non-Muslim residents over the age of 21 are allowed to drink in their homes, but they have to apply for a licence to be able to do so. Alcohol can be sold in licensed restaurants, bars and hotels – but drinking in public is strictly prohibited and can result in severe fines and even imprisonment. Mr Aouli said: 'Licensing procedures, restrictions on marketing, and cultural sensitivities mean that success here requires patience, local relationships, and absolute regulatory compliance.' However, while demand is growing, Dubai this year reimposed a 30pc import tariff on alcohol that had previously been suspended for two years – raising the prospect of higher prices for consumers. Mr Swartberg said: 'I think people from London are a little bit annoyed at the prices of wines in restaurants here. That's definitely a strong negative.' Last week, officials in Saudi Arabia were forced to deny that the Kingdom was planning to lift a 73-year ban on sales of alcohol, after reports emerged suggesting that it would do so to boost tourism ahead of the 2034 World Cup.
The National
09-04-2025
- Business
- The National
A UK tax rate of 67% makes Dubai move the obvious choice for the non-domiciled
Over the next five years, Britain will lose more millionaires per capita than any other country in the world. That's on top of the 10,000 millionaires who left the UK last year, taking their tax contributions, investments and business activity with them. The UAE was a favoured destination. In light of a struggling economy and growing fiscal obligations, Britain's wealth departure presents serious challenges. At a time when the government has pledged more money to fund public services, the loss of so many high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) will force Chancellor Rachel Reeves to make difficult decisions about whether to scale back her spending pledges, or raise money by raising taxes elsewhere. So, what's driving them away? The answer, of course, depends heavily on individual circumstances – but high tax rates, a challenging business environment and declining public safety are all contributing factors. For many millionaires, the dovernment's decision to abolish the non-domiciled tax regime last year will have been the straw that broke the camel's back, pushing them to finally relocate. For those unaware, the UK's non-dom tax regime allowed foreign citizens to exempt their overseas earnings from UK tax, for a fixed fee. At its face, this system is an intuitive one: non-doms were still liable to pay tax on the money that they made in the UK, but could live here without subjecting their overseas income to sky-high British tax rates. The benefits for non-doms are obvious, but the scheme also provided significant benefits for the British public. As of 2024, non-doms were estimated to pay, on average, £120,000 a year in British taxes. Some are likely to have paid millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions in tax on their domestic income. That's to say nothing of the broader benefits, including investment in British businesses, and consumer spending on goods and services in the UK. When the government announced its intention to scrap the scheme, the Adam Smith Institute was clear: abolishing the non-dom tax treatment, without introducing an alternative system for attracting HNWIs, will be a disaster for the UK's finances. Incredibly though, in implementation this bad idea is even worse than anticipated. The government's 2024 Finance Act contains two particular provisions that will effectively make it impossible for many non-doms to remain in the UK. First, the new rules governing the transfer of assets abroad are excessively wide-ranging. If a UK resident owns a foreign company, its profits can be treated as personal income – resulting, in effect, in a tax rate on overseas business income of 67 per cent. Second, HMRC, the UK's revenue collection agency, has refused to say whether income repatriated to the UK under the "Temporary Repatriation Facility" will be treated as tax avoidance. This uncertainty will make it impossible for many non-doms to remain in the UK. For many, it simply makes more sense to up sticks and relocate to wealth-friendly jurisdictions, such as Dubai. With its low taxes, straightforward regulatory environment and safe streets, Dubai has become the premier destination for non-doms fleeing the UK. Combine these factors with a world-class airport and warm weather all year round, and the UK-to-Dubai pipeline should come as no surprise. Since the 1970s, Dubai has understood the value of human capital, and has sought to attract wealthy individuals from around the world. The city is now reaping the rewards. It punches above its weight in the world of international commerce, and is a world-renowned destination for conferences, summits and meetings. In an increasingly competitive world, the success or failure of international cities will largely depend on their ability to attract high-quality people. While London and the UK are driving away wealth through excessive taxation, Dubai is taking the opposite path. Don't be surprised to see more British expats – and more British businesses – setting up shop on the shores of the Creek in the years to come.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
We will all pay the price for Labour's war on wealth
There is an oft-repeated, and by now inevitably somewhat clichéd, line from Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, in which he wrote that bankruptcy first happens slowly and then all at once. I hope then that readers will forgive me for using it here, but it seems to me to be an incredibly apt way of describing the trend in wealth creators leaving the UK. The number of millionaires making their way to more favourable tax jurisdictions has been fluctuating since the financial crash, but now the UK is expected to lose the greatest proportion of millionaires in the world by the end of this parliament. Non-doms were already gradually moving, but by all accounts a substantial number of those remaining are now planning to flee. Slowly, and then all at once indeed. I should hardly need to explain why this is calamitous for the economy, but the Government clearly needs a reminder. The disproportionate amount of business activity they create here aside, the taxes they contribute are integral to the Government's ability to fund its spending commitments, whether it's welfare or public services. The top 1 per cent pay almost 30 per cent of income tax. The number of liquid millionaires who left last year was the equivalent of over half a million average taxpayers leaving. Considering that these ordinary taxpayers are already being squeezed to pay for the state's spending, this is clearly a disaster. It's easy to see what this exodus is in response to: the sense that the UK has become increasingly anti-business and anti-wealth. The latest increase in employers' National Insurance and the incoming Employment Rights Bill will only have entrenched this view. And so they're heading to places that actively court high-net-worth individuals, such as Italy, which offers a flat tax, or the UAE, where there is no inheritance tax, capital gains tax or income tax. But of course it's the abolition of the non-dom status that is the final nail in the coffin for our non-doms. The Treasury will now be able to levy significant rates of tax on their assets and businesses abroad. They might as well erect a massive 'Get Lost' sign. This new regime already looked pretty bad. But it appears that the situation is a lot worse than we previously thought. The Adam Smith Institute has consulted with legal experts, financial advisors and accountants, and it has become clear that the Finance Bill as currently drafted has created a punitive and arbitrary set of rules, which will almost certainly drive away the final few remaining non-doms. The way the rules have been designed may result in non-doms being forced to pay genuinely excessive rates of tax, especially if, as planned, the Bill dismantles the safeguard that prevented a UK resident's profits from a foreign company from being treated as personal income. It also seems that there is significant legal uncertainty around the Temporary Repatriation Facility, which is supposed to encourage them to move their assets here. Their full findings will be released next week – and I've been told they make for grim reading. It is not clear why the Government is pressing ahead with these plans. Perhaps, as their most ardent detractors would accuse them of, they want to punish wealth-creators for what they see as their 'unfair' success. Or perhaps they genuinely believe that this will actually raise more money for the Treasury. But either way, it will ultimately be the average taxpayer in this country who will pay the price for Labour's war on wealth-creators. When wealth leaves the country, those who are left behind will inevitably see their taxes increase to pay for state spending. After all, as the great Mrs Thatcher once said, there is no such thing as public money, there is only taxpayers' money. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
22-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
We will all pay the price for Labour's war on wealth
There is an oft-repeated, and by now inevitably somewhat clichéd, line from Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, in which he wrote that bankruptcy first happens slowly and then all at once. I hope then that readers will forgive me for using it here, but it seems to me to be an incredibly apt way of describing the trend in wealth creators leaving the UK. The number of millionaires making their way to more favourable tax jurisdictions has been fluctuating since the financial crash, but now the UK is expected to lose the greatest proportion of millionaires in the world by the end of this parliament. Non-doms were already gradually moving, but by all accounts a substantial number of those remaining are now planning to flee. Slowly, and then all at once indeed. I should hardly need to explain why this is calamitous for the economy, but the Government clearly needs a reminder. The disproportionate amount of business activity they create here aside, the taxes they contribute are integral to the Government's ability to fund its spending commitments, whether it's welfare or public services. The top 1 per cent pay almost 30 per cent of income tax. The number of liquid millionaires who left last year was the equivalent of over half a million average taxpayers leaving. Considering that these ordinary taxpayers are already being squeezed to pay for the state's spending, this is clearly a disaster. It's easy to see what this exodus is in response to: the sense that the UK has become increasingly anti-business and anti-wealth. The latest increase in employers' National Insurance and the incoming Employment Rights Bill will only have entrenched this view. And so they're heading to places that actively court high-net-worth individuals, such as Italy, which offers a flat tax, or the UAE, where there is no inheritance tax, capital gains tax or income tax. But of course it's the abolition of the non-dom status that is the final nail in the coffin for our non-doms. The Treasury will now be able to levy significant rates of tax on their assets and businesses abroad. They might as well erect a massive 'Get Lost' sign. This new regime already looked pretty bad. But it appears that the situation is a lot worse than we previously thought. The Adam Smith Institute has consulted with legal experts, financial advisors and accountants, and it has become clear that the Finance Bill as currently drafted has created a punitive and arbitrary set of rules, which will almost certainly drive away the final few remaining non-doms. The way the rules have been designed may result in non-doms being forced to pay genuinely excessive rates of tax, especially if, as planned, the Bill dismantles the safeguard that prevented a UK resident's profits from a foreign company from being treated as personal income. It also seems that there is significant legal uncertainty around the Temporary Repatriation Facility, which is supposed to encourage them to move their assets here. Their full findings will be released next week – and I've been told they make for grim reading. It is not clear why the Government is pressing ahead with these plans. Perhaps, as their most ardent detractors would accuse them of, they want to punish wealth-creators for what they see as their 'unfair' success. Or perhaps they genuinely believe that this will actually raise more money for the Treasury. But either way, it will ultimately be the average taxpayer in this country who will pay the price for Labour's war on wealth-creators. When wealth leaves the country, those who are left behind will inevitably see their taxes increase to pay for state spending. After all, as the great Mrs Thatcher once said, there is no such thing as public money, there is only taxpayers' money.
