The rich are fleeing and our charities may be left holding the bill

"Mittal is not leaving because of boredom with Belgravia. As Business Matters reported, his exit follows the dismantling of the non-dom system and, critically, the looming threat of UK inheritance tax on his global estate. He is not alone. Norwegian shipping billionaire John Fredriksen, German investor Christian Angermayer, and tech founders Herman Narula (Improbable) and Nik Storonsky (Revolut) have already slipped out of Heathrow with one recurring reason circled in red: UK tax policy."

"And this, however we try to frame it, poses an awkward question. One the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, hasn't quite acknowledged in her rush to tighten the fiscal screws: if Britain is pushing out the very people who fund its museums, universities, research institutes, and children's hospitals, could UK charities be the biggest losers of her brave new tax world? Let's be honest. Charities don't live on wishful thinking. They live on cheques."

"And while the British public is generous in spirit, it is the handful of ultra-wealthy donors, people like Mittal, who quietly bank-roll the big stuff: endowments, buildings, specialist medical equipment, entire research departments. Mittal himself has given millions over decades to Great Ormond Street Hospital, to public libraries, to the arts, to humanitarian causes, to Oxford University. When such people stay, Britain wins. When they leave, Britain loses."

Changes to UK tax policy, including dismantling the non-dom system and potential global inheritance tax, are prompting wealthy individuals to shift residency abroad. High-net-worth figures including Lakshmi Mittal, John Fredriksen, Christian Angermayer, Herman Narula and Nik Storonsky are cited as relocating primarily for tax reasons. Many major charitable projects rely heavily on donations from a small number of ultra-wealthy benefactors who fund endowments, buildings, medical equipment and research departments. The loss of those donors risks substantial funding shortfalls for museums, universities, research institutes and children's hospitals. Public generosity cannot easily replace concentrated large gifts that sustain institutional infrastructure.

Read at Business Matters