Rise in CGT – Exiting the UK

Stephen Abletshauser, International Private Wealth Partner at Spencer West LLP says he is noticing a genuine feeling amongst his clients that leaving the UK is being taken as a very serious option:

 
“If capital gains tax is indeed equalised with income tax, material proportions of wealth generators will without doubt leave the UK for many years,” he said. “This will only further exacerbate the tax gap. There is a feeling that the social contract is broken in that double taxation in the form of Inheritance tax is deemed ‘fair’ whereas successive governments do not address the fact nearly a quarter of households pay no income tax and only 11 per cent of the working age population pays more than basic income tax.”

“We are a far more mobile society culturally and economically than 10 years ago even. The global competition for wealth generators to relocate to their jurisdiction is fierce and the likes of Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Singapore, the UAE, the Caribbean, and the USA will benefit from ill-advised tax grabs,” Abletshauser said.