Latest news with #GuillaumePousaz
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Starmer's Britain is good at only one thing: driving out the wealthy and ambitious
It doesn't lead the world in developing new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence. It isn't breaking new ground in science, technology, or even in music, literature or fashion. Still, Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Britain is at least leading the world in one respect. It has become better than anywhere else at driving out the wealthy, the young, and the ambitious. There is just one catch. The Government doesn't appear to have any ideas on how to stem the exodus, nor how to replace all the tax revenues that will leave with them. The evidence that money and talent is fleeing Britain is becoming more alarming all the time. Guillaume Pousaz, Swiss-born billionaire founder of fintech giant Checkout, has become the latest to leave. We learned this week that he has shifted his tax residency from Britain to Monaco, following the decision by the Chancellor Rachel Reeve to abolish the non-dom rule that allowed wealthy foreigners to limit their tax bills in the UK. He joins the likes of the billionaire steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and the senior Goldman Sachs banker Richard Goode in getting out of the country. Over the last year, an estimated 10,000 millionaires have left the UK, according to Henley & Partners, second only to Russia, and the real total may be even higher. But it is not just a handful of the super-rich who are getting out. The young and ambitious are increasingly leaving for the Gulf States such as Dubai or Qatar, for Australia, where the youth mobility scheme allows them to live or work, or for the United States, if they can get a visa. Likewise, the 'Henrys', or 'High Earners, Not Yet Rich' are fleeing as well. It is not hard to understand why. The non-dom crackdown has created one of the most punitive tax regimes in the world for foreigners. They are now subject not just to our income taxes, but to inheritance tax at 40 per cent on their global assets, as well as capital gains tax if they sell their company. Many simply have to leave or face financial ruin. Likewise, frozen thresholds and tapered personal allowances now mean many successful self-employed or young professionals face marginal tax rates of 70 per cent or more on their earnings (and even more if they are crazy enough to live in Scotland). Perhaps worse of all, the dire state of the public finances means that everyone knows there is far worse to come over the next two or three years, with taxes rising relentlessly to pay for soaring welfare bills and public sector wages. The only rational decision is to get out while you still can. A desperate Labour Chancellor – perhaps an Angela Rayner-type – may even impose an exit tax, as other countries have tried to. It is catastrophic for any country to lose its wealthiest, most energetic, talented, ambitious, and hardest-working people. They drive investment, innovation, and entrepreneurship. More than any other group, they create the wealth that allows the country to flourish. But it is especially catastrophic for Britain. The reason is simple. Over the last thirty years, we have narrowed our tax base, so that the Government is very dependent on a small group of people. The top 1 per cent now pay 28 per cent of the total for income tax, and the top 10 per cent pay 60 per cent of the total. For capital gains tax, dividend taxes, and corporation tax the percentage will be even higher. As they leave, the revenue collected will collapse. Even worse, as the exodus gathers steam, the Government is doing precisely nothing to stop it. Any rational government, faced with losing 30 per cent of its tax revenue, would be frantically finding ways of persuading them to stay. Instead, Labour is complacently watching them leave, as if it makes no difference. It is going to prove a very expensive mistake – because the UK will find it very hard to get all those people back once they have left. 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
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Starmer's Britain is good at only one thing: driving out the wealthy and ambitious
It doesn't lead the world in developing new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence. It isn't breaking new ground in science, technology, or even in music, literature or fashion. Still, Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Britain is at least leading the world in one respect. It has become better than anywhere else at driving out the wealthy, the young, and the ambitious. There is just one catch. The Government doesn't appear to have any ideas on how to stem the exodus, nor how to replace all the tax revenues that will leave with them. The evidence that money and talent is fleeing Britain is becoming more alarming all the time. Guillaume Pousaz, Swiss-born billionaire founder of fintech giant Checkout, has become the latest to leave. We learned this week that he has shifted his tax residency from Britain to Monaco, following the decision by the Chancellor Rachel Reeve to abolish the non-dom rule that allowed wealthy foreigners to limit their tax bills in the UK. He joins the likes of the billionaire steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and the senior Goldman Sachs banker Richard Goode in getting out of the country. Over the last year, an estimated 10,000 millionaires have left the UK, according to Henley & Partners, second only to Russia, and the real total may be even higher. But it is not just a handful of the super-rich who are getting out. The young and ambitious are increasingly leaving for the Gulf States such as Dubai or Qatar, for Australia, where the youth mobility scheme allows them to live or work, or for the United States, if they can get a visa. Likewise, the 'Henrys', or 'High Earners, Not Yet Rich' are fleeing as well. It is not hard to understand why. The non-dom crackdown has created one of the most punitive tax regimes in the world for foreigners. They are now subject not just to our income taxes, but to inheritance tax at 40 per cent on their global assets, as well as capital gains tax if they sell their company. Many simply have to leave or face financial ruin. Likewise, frozen thresholds and tapered personal allowances now mean many successful self-employed or young professionals face marginal tax rates of 70 per cent or more on their earnings (and even more if they are crazy enough to live in Scotland). Perhaps worse of all, the dire state of the public finances means that everyone knows there is far worse to come over the next two or three years, with taxes rising relentlessly to pay for soaring welfare bills and public sector wages. The only rational decision is to get out while you still can. A desperate Labour Chancellor – perhaps an Angela Rayner-type – may even impose an exit tax, as other countries have tried to. It is catastrophic for any country to lose its wealthiest, most energetic, talented, ambitious, and hardest-working people. They drive investment, innovation, and entrepreneurship. More than any other group, they create the wealth that allows the country to flourish. But it is especially catastrophic for Britain. The reason is simple. Over the last thirty years, we have narrowed our tax base, so that the Government is very dependent on a small group of people. The top 1 per cent now pay 28 per cent of the total for income tax, and the top 10 per cent pay 60 per cent of the total. For capital gains tax, dividend taxes, and corporation tax the percentage will be even higher. As they leave, the revenue collected will collapse. Even worse, as the exodus gathers steam, the Government is doing precisely nothing to stop it. Any rational government, faced with losing 30 per cent of its tax revenue, would be frantically finding ways of persuading them to stay. Instead, Labour is complacently watching them leave, as if it makes no difference. It is going to prove a very expensive mistake – because the UK will find it very hard to get all those people back once they have left.
Finextra
3 days ago
- Business
- Finextra
Checkout.com billionaire founder quits London for Monaco
The billionaire CEO of payments processor Guillaume Pousaz has switched his country of residence from the UK to tax haven Monaco. 0 Switzerland-born Pousaz, who founded in 2012 and is now worth an estimated $6 billion, is making the move just a year after arriving in London from Dubai, according to the Telegraph. There is no indication that the company's London headquarters are affected by its boss's move. The switch sees Pousaz avoid changes to the UK's non-dom regime and increased taxes on capital gains, which were introduced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachael Reeves as part of last year's Budget. He is not the first of the super-rich elite to abandon the UK since the changes: Goldman Sachs' vice chairman in Europe, Richard Gnodde, quit London for Milan earlier this year, while steel giant Lakshmi Mittal is also rumoured to be leaving. provides merchants with a single platform combining payments, fraud monitoring and analytics. It counts big names such as Alibaba, Ikea, Remitly and Wise among its clients. In 2022, the firm hit a $40 billion valuation on the back of a whopping $1 billion Series D funding round. The firm subsequently saw its valuation fall during the post-pandemic period but is targeting full-year profitability in 2025 after a strong finish to 2024 that saw 45% year-on-year net revenue growth in its core business.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Billionaire Checkout CEO Shifts Residence From UK to Monaco
Guillaume Pousaz, the billionaire founder of online payments firm has joined a surge in ultra-wealthy individuals shifting their residence away from the UK amid tax hikes on the nation's wealthy. Pousaz, 43, now lists Monaco as his usual residence after previously relocating to the UK from the United Arab Emirates, according to UK registry filings released Tuesday. The Swiss native has a net worth of about $5.6 billion through his London-based technology company, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Billionaire tech founder quits Britain for Monaco
A billionaire tech founder has abandoned Britain for Monaco in the wake of Rachel Reeves's tax crackdown. Guillaume Pousaz, the Swiss founder of payments business shifted his country of residence to the tax haven last month, according to Companies House filings. Mr Pousaz is leaving the UK just over a year after he moved to London from Dubai, as he joins a growing exodus of wealth creators. However, with an estimated personal fortune of $6bn (£4.44bn), Mr Pousaz is one of the richest entrepreneurs to quit Britain since Labour came to power last year. It comes after the Chancellor launched a £1bn crackdown on non-doms and increased taxes on capital gains as part of last year's Budget. This led to a record 10,800 millionaires leaving Britain in 2024, according to data from Henley & Partners.
