Britain risks losing wealthy investors, entrepreneurs and family fortunes for years to come as a record tax burden intensifies concerns over the country’s economic competitiveness, according to Nigel Green, chief executive of financial advisory firm deVere Group.
Green’s warning follows a Budget that has reignited political tensions over taxation, growth and the future of Britain’s wealth creators, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accusing the Government of pushing the country towards its highest-ever tax burden.
“Kemi Badenoch is right, and the wealthy heard her loud and clear,” Green said.
“People with capital and a passport have choices. When a country taxes them harder than at any point since it was paying off a world war, they use those choices.”
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts that taxation will reach 37.9 per cent of national income in 2027/28, exceeding the previous post-war record of 37.2 per cent set in 1948/49. The watchdog expects the figure to climb further, reaching 38.6 per cent by 2031/32.
For Green, the figures risk reinforcing a perception that Britain is becoming less attractive to internationally mobile wealth.
“I expect Britain to keep losing millionaires, entrepreneurs and family fortunes for the foreseeable future,” he said. “This wealth exodus has years left to run.”
Millionaire Exodus Threatens Britain’s Tax Base
The potential economic consequences extend beyond the departure of wealthy individuals. High earners contribute a substantial share of income tax receipts, leaving the public finances exposed if significant numbers relocate.
Green cited figures showing that the top one per cent of income taxpayers — approximately 367,000 people — account for 27.2 per cent of Britain’s income tax bill while receiving 12.4 per cent of total income.
“They’re the most valuable taxpayers in the country and the most mobile,” he said.
“Every one of them who leaves creates a gap someone else has to fill.”
The pressures extend across the tax system. Frozen income tax thresholds continue to pull more earnings into higher tax bands, while employers have faced higher National Insurance contributions since April 2025. The abolition of the non-dom tax regime and planned inheritance tax changes affecting unused pension funds have added to concerns among some wealthy households.
Green argues that the combination risks creating a damaging cycle: weaker incentives to invest, a narrower tax base and further pressure on the Government to raise revenue.
Weak Growth Deepens the Concern
The OBR’s downgrade of its growth forecast for next year to one per cent has sharpened the debate over whether Britain can sustain rising taxation without damaging investment.
“Growth of 1% won’t pay for a record tax take,” Green said. “When the people who invest and hire walk away, the base shrinks, the next tax rise follows, and more of them walk.”
Wealth migration forecasts cited in the debate suggest Britain could record a net outflow of 8,600 millionaires this year, following an estimated 16,500 in 2025. Such projections are forecasts, however, rather than confirmed counts of departures.
Green said wealthy clients were increasingly asking advisers about relocation options, including the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Switzerland and destinations in Asia.
Yet he believes the trend can be reversed.
Britain retains substantial advantages, including its legal system, universities, international business language and financial services expertise.
“Capital is loyal to nobody, and it cuts both ways,” he said.
“Offer stability and a credible route to lower taxes and it’ll come flooding back.”
The challenge for policymakers is whether Britain can restore confidence among investors without undermining the public finances. Until then, the warning from wealth advisers is stark: the country risks losing some of the people and capital on which its future prosperity depends.
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