Don’t Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out

It appears that many of the hyper-wealthy residents of London are considering leaving in response to potential tax increases.

Let them go.

They drive up costs for ordinary folks, they cheat on their taxes, and they generally make London unlivable: 

In Mayfair’s financial enclave and the sleek offices of advisers to the ultra-rich, the talk is getting louder: everyone knows someone who's thinking about their exit strategy — or already gone.

Moves that were once confined to whispers and rumors have burst into the open since the Labour Party came into power with promises to clamp down even further on preferential tax treatment for well-heeled foreign residents, known as non-doms, as well as private equity investments and private school fees.

Some are simply cashing in UK investments, but others — from scions of mega-rich families to City of London bosses — have mapped out or already executed departure plans, according to about three dozen wealth advisers and high-net-worth individuals interviewed by Bloomberg, who mostly asked not to be named.

………

For the wealthiest, the UK’s most contentious plans include 40% inheritance tax on offshore wealth, and having carried interest — a portion of investment returns, shared between fund managers — taxed at a rate as high as 45%, rather than 28% currently.

If they are willing to ditch the UK because they don't want to pay their taxes, you don't want them in the UK at all.

Just make sure that you ding them for money on the way out.