Skip to main content

Wealthy Brits could relocate here if Corbyn wins election

A CORBYN government would spark an exodus of wealthy Brits – and Guernsey would be a ‘sensible’ choice for them when it comes to relocating.

Jeremy Corbyn (26321928)
Jeremy Corbyn (26321928) / Guernsey Press

The message from the boss of deVere Group, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations, comes as the UK general election campaign hots up.

Tory leader Boris Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn have been trading blows on their tax and spending plans.

Nigel Green, chief executive of deVere, said: ‘It’s our experience that an increasing number of high-net-worth clients are legitimately worried about the damaging impact of a Jeremy Corbyn-led government on their finances.

‘There are real concerns from these individuals that should Mr Corbyn sweep into power he would increase inheritance taxes, income taxes, stamp duty and capital gains taxes, potentially even roll out capital controls, and slash other areas, such as pensions tax relief.

‘I believe we can realistically expect a Corbyn government would trigger an exodus of the country’s most successful and wealthiest individuals who contribute significantly both directly and indirectly to the British economy.’

‘Soaking the rich’ does not work because such people, typically, have the resources to move to lower tax jurisdictions if the tax burden in the UK became too great.

They are internationally mobile, said Mr Green.

He added: ‘Guernsey, a stable, secure and low-tax jurisdiction, would be a sensible choice for a high-net-worth individual looking to mitigate the fallout of a Jeremy Corbyn-led government.’

There was also a warning about the impact on UK government finances if job and wealth-creating individuals emigrated, said Mr Green, as they contribute a ‘disproportionately’ large amount to the state’s coffers.

‘It would also likely deter top international talent and investors from coming to the UK too, which would negatively impact long-term sustainable economic growth prospects.’

The deVere CEO urged the Labour leader to follow a different tack on tax: ‘If Mr Corbyn is serious about having the better-off pay more tax, they should cut rates further and allow them to become wealthier.

‘This would incentivise top achievers, who prop-up “The System”, to remain in the UK.

‘However, I suspect that implementing this economically-sound philosophy would be political suicide for Jeremy Corbyn.’

You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.