Nigel Farage said his Reform UK Party would “bring back” wealthy foreigners who have left Britain by giving them a full exemption from taxes on their overseas assets in return for a once-a-decade fee that would fund cash payments to low-income workers.
At a London press conference Monday, Farage indicated he was particularly targeting those who have have moved to Italy, which has a similar policy and just increased the fee that it changes in return for granting so-called non-domiciled status.
“We’re taking you on,” Farage said in a London press conference when asked if he had a message for Giorgia Meloni’s Italian government. “You’ve been nicking all our best people in Milano. We’re going to get them back.”
The proposal from Farage is part of a policy agenda that he has been laying out for upstart populist party in an effort to make it a serious contender in the next general election, due by 2029. While the party has just five members of Parliament currently, it is consistently polling higher than the ruling Labour Party and is aiming to replace the Conservatives as the party of business.
If his party were put in power, Farage said he would offer non-doms — those who live in Britain but are not resident for tax purposes — a “Britannia Card” giving them full exemption from inheritance tax and tax on their overseas assets for a fee of £250,000 ($335,000) every 10 years.
That’s cheaper than Italy, which is charging non-doms €200,000 ($229,410) per year in order to take advantage of the country’s flat tax regime. US President Donald Trump has touted a $5 million “Trump Card” that would give wealthy immigrants a path to residency.
Farage denied on Monday that he was selling the UK short. “We’ve set the level that we think is reasonable,” he said. “Is it the level that global billionaires will worry about? No, but wouldn’t it be nice to think that that level has been set and it might attract the 30-somethings who aren’t vastly wealthy but see real opportunities in coming to Britain?”
The revenue would be redistributed to lower income workers, drawing a new battle line with Britain’s traditional parties. In a low-uptake scenario, where 6,000 cards were delivered per annum, that would create a £1.5 billion fund for low-income workers, Reform said — equating to a £600 handout per worker for the lowest-earning 10%.
Farage dismissed concerns his plan could create perverse incentives for employers to keep salaries low, knowing that their staff would get a state-funded boost. “You’d have to be a very devious employer to work that out,” he said.
The proposal pits Reform against both the Conservatives, which last year abolished non-dom status for those who live in Britain but have their permanent home abroad, and the Labour government, which went one step further after winning the election last July by imposing inheritance tax on their global wealth.
Thousands of people in Britain have left in protest at Labour’s inheritance tax measure, including some of the country’s wealthiest individuals. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is now exploring changes to bring them back. Inheritance tax is charged at 40% in the UK, one of the highest rates in the developed world.
While some of the British press have already dubbed it a “Robin Hood” policy, in reference to the legendary English outlaw who robbed from the rich to give to the poor around the late 12th and early 13th centuries, Farage tried to play down that comparison on Monday.
“We’re not stealing from the rich — we’re encouraging them to come,” Farage said. “We’re very, very specific about this, that the redistribution elements of this goes to working people.”
It also follows a commitment by Farage to expand certain welfare payments, in a clear attempt to win over Labour’s left-leaning voters.
Reform has become a credible threat to Britain’s traditional two party system. As well as leading in the polls, Farage is developing a more coherent policy agenda than with his former UKIP and Brexit parties, when he led largely single issue campaigns against the European Union. Critics warn that his plans for big tax cuts on working people paid for by slashing the size of the state could prove undeliverable.
Dan Neidle, founder of Tax Policy Associates, said Reform’s non-dom proposals would do nothing to attract high-skilled and high-paid professionals like doctors and scientists who would be valuable to the UK but could not afford the £250,000 up-front sum. He also said the UK would lose up to £34 billion of taxes that were going to be paid by wealthy foreigners who would have remained in the UK, but would instead opt for a Britannia Card.
Reform’s £250,000 “landing fee” is a little cheaper than the former non-dom regime under which there was an annual fixed charge of £30,000 if an individual lived in the UK for seven of the last nine tax years, rising to £60,000 if it was 12 of the last 14 tax years.
At a London press conference Monday, Farage indicated he was particularly targeting those who have have moved to Italy, which has a similar policy and just increased the fee that it changes in return for granting so-called non-domiciled status.
“We’re taking you on,” Farage said in a London press conference when asked if he had a message for Giorgia Meloni’s Italian government. “You’ve been nicking all our best people in Milano. We’re going to get them back.”
The proposal from Farage is part of a policy agenda that he has been laying out for upstart populist party in an effort to make it a serious contender in the next general election, due by 2029. While the party has just five members of Parliament currently, it is consistently polling higher than the ruling Labour Party and is aiming to replace the Conservatives as the party of business.
If his party were put in power, Farage said he would offer non-doms — those who live in Britain but are not resident for tax purposes — a “Britannia Card” giving them full exemption from inheritance tax and tax on their overseas assets for a fee of £250,000 ($335,000) every 10 years.
That’s cheaper than Italy, which is charging non-doms €200,000 ($229,410) per year in order to take advantage of the country’s flat tax regime. US President Donald Trump has touted a $5 million “Trump Card” that would give wealthy immigrants a path to residency.
Farage denied on Monday that he was selling the UK short. “We’ve set the level that we think is reasonable,” he said. “Is it the level that global billionaires will worry about? No, but wouldn’t it be nice to think that that level has been set and it might attract the 30-somethings who aren’t vastly wealthy but see real opportunities in coming to Britain?”
The revenue would be redistributed to lower income workers, drawing a new battle line with Britain’s traditional parties. In a low-uptake scenario, where 6,000 cards were delivered per annum, that would create a £1.5 billion fund for low-income workers, Reform said — equating to a £600 handout per worker for the lowest-earning 10%.
Farage dismissed concerns his plan could create perverse incentives for employers to keep salaries low, knowing that their staff would get a state-funded boost. “You’d have to be a very devious employer to work that out,” he said.
The proposal pits Reform against both the Conservatives, which last year abolished non-dom status for those who live in Britain but have their permanent home abroad, and the Labour government, which went one step further after winning the election last July by imposing inheritance tax on their global wealth.
Thousands of people in Britain have left in protest at Labour’s inheritance tax measure, including some of the country’s wealthiest individuals. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is now exploring changes to bring them back. Inheritance tax is charged at 40% in the UK, one of the highest rates in the developed world.
While some of the British press have already dubbed it a “Robin Hood” policy, in reference to the legendary English outlaw who robbed from the rich to give to the poor around the late 12th and early 13th centuries, Farage tried to play down that comparison on Monday.
“We’re not stealing from the rich — we’re encouraging them to come,” Farage said. “We’re very, very specific about this, that the redistribution elements of this goes to working people.”
It also follows a commitment by Farage to expand certain welfare payments, in a clear attempt to win over Labour’s left-leaning voters.
Reform has become a credible threat to Britain’s traditional two party system. As well as leading in the polls, Farage is developing a more coherent policy agenda than with his former UKIP and Brexit parties, when he led largely single issue campaigns against the European Union. Critics warn that his plans for big tax cuts on working people paid for by slashing the size of the state could prove undeliverable.
Dan Neidle, founder of Tax Policy Associates, said Reform’s non-dom proposals would do nothing to attract high-skilled and high-paid professionals like doctors and scientists who would be valuable to the UK but could not afford the £250,000 up-front sum. He also said the UK would lose up to £34 billion of taxes that were going to be paid by wealthy foreigners who would have remained in the UK, but would instead opt for a Britannia Card.
Reform’s £250,000 “landing fee” is a little cheaper than the former non-dom regime under which there was an annual fixed charge of £30,000 if an individual lived in the UK for seven of the last nine tax years, rising to £60,000 if it was 12 of the last 14 tax years.
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