The recent decision to abolish the non-dom status, which allows a small group of very rich UK residents to earn money abroad without paying tax on it in Britain, has sparked numerous conversations about whether this will force people to leave the country. As a millionaire living in the UK who has benefited from the non-dom status, I feel differently. Having a tax break is not the reason I live here, and having to pay my share in taxes does not make me want to leave. On the contrary, it represents a promise of more investment, and a better country. I’d like to think there are plenty of non-doms in the UK who will happily pay the tax that is expected of them, and who won’t be going anywhere.
After all, living somewhere is about so much more than the taxes you pay. There are so many benefits from living in this country. I’ve built a strong foundation for my family, with my friends, and I feel welcomed everywhere I go. I enjoy a wonderful lifestyle, access to superb culture, and I get to meet incredible people from all over the world. I particularly appreciate having access to the most forward-thinking professionals in impact investing and strategic philanthropy. My family benefits from a full life, access to healthcare that’s free at the point of use, great public transport (in London at least!) and so much more. Paying more in tax for all this is not something that concerns me – nor does it concern the wealthy people I know.
I find it deeply worrying when people tell us they’ll leave if they have to contribute more. In politics and in the media, we often hear that taxing wealth will lead to an exodus of wealthy people. Yet in reality, this doesn’t reflect the concerns of the vast majority. There are only about 70,000 people with non-dom status in this country, with an average income of about £800,000. For what it’s worth, I’m sure that is enough to cope with an increase in tax. Especially considering the responsibility everyone else is bearing. While taxes on wealth haven’t increased in decades, some multimillionaires now pay the same effective tax rate as nurses. People on low and middle incomes have been dragged into higher tax brackets while they struggle with the cost of living. How are we not concerned by the overreliance on low and middle earners to pay tax when concentrated wealth at the very top is significantly undertaxed? It’s not having to pay more tax that keeps me awake at night, but the thought of millions not making ends meet does.
As an individual, I had been working on giving up the non-dom status. But the truth is that where there is a tax break, people are going to use it. I’m glad that the decision on whether to give it up has been taken out of my hands and there is a legal obligation on me to pay this tax, rather than it being a voluntary action. It shouldn’t be up to individuals to make such choices when what we need is our governments to make sure our tax system, as a whole, is fairer.
I don’t see much else that could be more important to spend my wealth on than preserving the delicate and precious freedom of living in a democratic society with a decent level of welfare. Not just for me, but for future generations too. Investing in our collective national wealth will help to prevent us from sliding into deeper political chaos, further climate breakdown, or having to watch as millions more are denied access to basic and essential services. If we are to avoid further crises, we cannot live in a system that prioritises the wealth of a small number of people over the collective wealth of society. Abolishing the non-dom status is a good start to what we need – a systemic overhaul of how we think of wealth distribution.
All change is scary, and some individuals will fight against it. For many that have benefited from this tax advantage, losing it might seem unfair or even punitive. We’ve seen the same response to other societal shifts. But the trickle of stories about people leaving say more about their resistance to change, and to a fairer society, than they do about what the majority of wealthy people think. Believe me when I say that there is a growing community of wealthy people, like me, who love living here and want to see and contribute to greater investment in this country. And we aren’t going anywhere.
