Billionaire entrepreneur Peter Hargreaves has sounded a cautionary note regarding the UK’s tax policies on wealthy individuals, expressing concern that further tax increases could prompt more affluent taxpayers to leave the country. Hargreaves, co-founder of Hargreaves Lansdown, one of Britain's largest investment platforms, highlighted the departure of hedge fund manager Chris Rokos as a significant loss for the UK’s tax base.
Rokos recently announced plans to relocate his residency to Greece, attracted by its flat annual tax of €100,000. He reportedly contributed £330 million in taxes last year, underscoring the financial impact of his departure. Hargreaves himself paid £210 million in taxes last year, ranking as the sixth-largest taxpayer in the UK with a personal wealth estimated at over £2 billion. Reflecting on the broader trend, he warned that losing several top taxpayers could reduce government revenue by billions of pounds.
The movement of high-net-worth individuals abroad has been attributed in part to the abolition of the non-dom tax regime, recent increases in employer national insurance contributions, and rising operational costs from minimum wage hikes and regulatory changes. Last year, employer national insurance rose from 13.8% to 15%, with the earnings threshold lowered, while the national minimum wage increased to £12.71 per hour for adults over 21.
Hargreaves expressed skepticism about the UK’s economic trajectory, stating that the country “is finished” and had already “slid,” citing both increased taxation and challenging business conditions. At the same time, he said he has no immediate plans to leave the UK. Others within the business community have echoed concerns about the tax burden and economic environment. Notable figures such as Jim Ratcliffe, founder of Ineos, relocated their tax domiciles abroad, with Ratcliffe describing the UK as “on the slide.” By contrast, Hargreaves disagreed with this characterization, emphasizing that decline had already occurred.
The tax contributions of the country’s wealthiest taxpayers remain substantial, with the top 100 individuals contributing nearly £5.8 billion in 2025, a 15.5% rise over the previous year. However, tensions persist as the UK government faces rising borrowing costs—UK government debt servicing reached a record £8.8 billion in August, prompting economists to anticipate tax increases in the upcoming budget.
Critics from within and outside government have voiced concerns about the current fiscal approach, warning that increased taxes and regulatory burdens risk hampering business competitiveness. The British Chambers of Commerce president Andy Haldane and former chief economist Lord O’Neill of Gatley have publicly questioned the government’s tax-and-spend strategy and its implications for growth and public spending efficiency.
Meanwhile, research from wealth management firms indicates growing anxiety among affluent individuals over the cumulative effect of incremental tax changes affecting retirement income, pensions, inheritance, property, and investments. This “death by a thousand cuts” perception reflects uncertainty about future policy directions and their impact on wealth holders.
As Chancellor John Healey prepares for the forthcoming budget, he faces balancing the need to replenish public finances with concerns about the potential economic fallout from further taxation on the richest segments of society.