Why Is Steel Tycoon Lakshmi Mittal Leaving The UK? The Great Tax Scare Explained

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

60% : But to understand why a man often seen as inseparable from London's billionaire circuit is walking away, it is essential to look at both his journey in the UK and the tax changes now unfolding.
56% : This framework previously allowed wealthy residents, especially foreign nationals, to pay tax only on income earned within the UK, shielding their global earnings and assets from domestic taxation.
56% : With the expected passage of the so-called "super-rich tax" in the next Budget, UK elites could face higher taxes on their total wealth and income, including assets abroad.
54% : The Labour government's decision to scrap this status represents one of the most dramatic tax reforms in recent years.
54% : " Inheritance tax in the UK applies at a rate of 40 per cent on estates above the threshold of £325,000.
54% : Dubai has increasingly become a magnet for billionaires in recent years, offering not only tax advantages but also a high degree of financial privacy and political stability.
53% : Mittal, one of the world's richest industrialists and the long-time face of Britain's super-rich, is preparing to leave the country as the Labour government moves ahead with major tax reforms targeting high-net-worth individuals.
53% : The decisive factor behind Mittal's move is the Labour government's new tax regime, which introduces sweeping changes that directly impact high-net-worth individuals.
51% : However, the most pressing issue for Mittal appears to be the inheritance tax.
47% : As The Sunday Times reported, advisers close to the family said the biggest concern was the idea that "all of their assets worldwide should fall under UK inheritance tax".
46% : His decision comes at a time when several wealthy entrepreneurs and investors are heading for more tax-friendly jurisdictions, raising questions about Britain's changing economic climate and the future of its status as a preferred base for global capital.
45% : A central concern is the abolition of the UK's long-standing "non-dom" (non-domiciled) tax status.
44% : Both jurisdictions are attractive to wealthy families because they impose no inheritance tax, a major point of divergence from the UK.
43% : Many wealthy people from overseas cannot understand why all of their assets, wherever they are in the world, should be subject to inheritance tax imposed by the UK Treasury.
41% : There were also earlier debates over an "exit tax", a levy of up to 20 per cent on individuals leaving the UK to avoid taxation.
38% : One adviser quoted by the outlet said, "It wasn't the tax on income [or capital gains] that was the issue...
38% : The issue was inheritance tax.
37% : Several entrepreneurs and investors are leaving due to concerns about future tax changes and policy instability.
21% : Revolut co-founder Nik Storonsky moved to the UAE to avoid a significant capital gains tax bill, while Herman Narula, another prominent India-born tech founder, publicly criticised the idea of an exit tax, calling it "completely insane.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.