‘Wealth taxes will cause the rich to flee’: 12 wealth tax myths debunked – Tax Justice UK

20 comments

1. Even if they did flee, good now we have a more equal society

2. “If you make them pay taxes all these awful sociopaths will leave the country”

   Oh no. However shall we cope. Anywho..

3. Sadly this article doesn’t provide great financial evidence. Although I agree that the taxes are unfair, wealth taxes have literally never worked, the rich are more mobile than ever and can choose where or how to class their assets in over 200 jurisdictions. The top 1% leaving would mean that we lose 33% of income taxes (from this article) whilst not even accounting for business taxes, consumption taxes etc they pay and the money they circle in the economy, so losing them isn’t great by any means. Most importantly, even if we taxed all UK Millionaires/Billionaires insanely high we could still not plug up our deficit. This country spends too much money, money it doesn’t have, and that is by far the more urgent problem relating to the UK’s finances.

4. If they flee we can seize the physical assets as a way to pay said tax?

   Where are the downsides?

5. I’ve not read the article in detail but close to the top it confirms my understanding that the top 1% pay 30% of all tax revenue.

   Therefore, we need to be careful that the top 1% don’t leave. They are most able to do so if they feel the tax rules become punitive, and other countries tax rules can mean they will pay less if they do move.

   I’m sure we would all love our tax to go up by 30% if we did manage to make all the top 1% leave the country.

   For me, it’s cracking down on tax dodging schemes, etc that really needs to be focused on. Although, I’m not adverse to reviewing general taxation to see if a better balance can be found, but it can’t be punitive.

6. I’m sorry but this article is just a bunch of BS cope.

   >The recent experience of a marginal increase in wealth taxes in Norway has led to some misleading and hyperbolic media reports that the rich are fleeing.

   Yeah that’s wrong… the wealthy are flooding out of Norway, it’s a known problem for them now. In 2022 alone, more wealthy individuals left Norway than in the previous 13 years combined.

   And this is ALREADY a growing problem in the UK, more millionaires per capita are leaving the UK than any other country in the world at the moment, high taxes, and high crime are given as the top 2 reasons.

   If the Government taxes them more, this will only increase that, and that will be very bad news for the country.

7. Let them flee then. If they have businesses here and want to continue operating here and selling to our market, then they are still paying tax. Otherwise, good luck finding new markets abroad.

8. I get the argument that UK-based assets can be taxed more effectively, but the issue isn’t just about taxation—it’s about how capital behaves in response to it.

   Wealth isn’t static, and assets don’t generate tax revenue on their own-ownership does. If taxation becomes too aggressive, capital restructures. Wealthy individuals don’t just “move all they like” for personal reasons-they restructure ownership, relocate investments, and shift economic activity elsewhere.
   That’s why capital flight isn’t just about billionaires leaving-it’s about what happens to investment, businesses, and jobs when money finds a more favourable environment elsewhere.

   And let’s be clear-billionaires don’t earn like regular workers. They don’t have high salaries; they own assets that appreciate over time. Their income is often capital gains, dividends, or business equity, which can be legally restructured across jurisdictions. If you tax UK-based assets more aggressively, what happens? Investment vehicles adjust, assets get sold, and capital looks for the path of least resistance.

   This is why simply increasing taxation doesn’t solve inequality-it ignores the deeper issue. The real driver of wealth concentration isn’t just tax policy; it’s a fiat-based monetary system that inflates asset prices, devalues wages, and fuels financialisation over productive investment. That’s why inequality keeps growing even when taxation and government intervention increase.

   And when we’re debating taxation, we’re arguing over the fire, but not discussing how it started. The real issue is that we’re operating in an economic system where governments endlessly print money, inflate financial assets, and devalue real wages. Until that’s addressed, no tax policy will fix the structural problems at play.

9. Yes let’s tax those who’ve done well at school, worked hard, paid huge taxes already and have something to show for it. Not for economic reasons of course, just so that those that haven’t done those things feel better about themselves. And the government can again skip any blame for failing the majority by investing correctly, mismanaging the huge tax receipts they already receive and pitting us all against each other.

   Great idea everyone. We already lose huge talent that we’ve all paid to create to other countries that don’t penalise success and welcome them with open arms. Let’s have more of that instead of making this country a place where the best want to be again.

10. When these rich parasites go bankrupt they demand the taxpayer fund them. They can pack up and ship off. The bloody cheeky parasites. Nationalise their assets. Maybe then we can grow our economy for a change when we don’t have billionaire cancers trying to squeeze every last penny from the taxpayer through privatisation and corrupt contracting practices.

11. The biggest wealth tax hole is our council tax which could be solved by splitting the H tax band up and extend it to Z. Also review property valuations every 30 years. This avoids a costly re-evaluation every year, and makes our council tax much less regressive. As it stands it is much more regressive than the US which is percentage based!

12. Oh yeah, just like public schools would lose half their pupils. See also, all farmers will be bankrupt.

13. Enforce full tax payment of the large avoiders if they leave so what, they aren’t paying into the system anyway

14. Tax everyone who owns assets based off asset value. No matter where they live.

15. How are they going to take their assets with them? Are they putting all those buildings on a ship?

16. Remember folks.
    Most rich people (not all) are still human and they have real lives and roots that they put down.
    Some might piss off but most will not.
    Even for the ones that do, well, the underlying assets they have in the UK still exist. It’s just the person that is going.

17. Given how much people complain about the cost of living already, I’m not sure they’d like taxes increasing for everyone to make up the loss of tax income from wealthy individuals leaving. And we do know they will leave because it’s been tried by Norway.

18. I have quite a lot of money. I left the UK for other reasons but now won’t return because taxes are too high. The UK government now collects £0 from me. So you can label it a myth all you like, but people are literally doing it.

19. Go watch Gary’s economics. He covers all of this very well

20. I think people are being obtuse on purpose. They mean they will relocate their busineses to countries with better tax incentives . Which means no tax revenues from those businesses .

    Then there is a loss of jobs and a decline in the livelihoods of people who’ve lost those jobs .

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