In Britain, the newly elected Labor government plans to abolish the favorable tax regime it offered to the rich
An unprecedented wave of immigration of the world's super-rich is underway and is expected to peak this year. The rich migrate the easiest way from countries such as Britain, France and Norway to Switzerland, Dubai and Singapore, and even Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Portugal and Spain, which in recent years have offered incentives to attract them to their territory. They generally leave former tax havens or more generally countries that offered them favorable tax treatment but now no longer favor them and settle in countries that provide them with new incentives.
In Britain, the newly elected Labor government plans to abolish the favorable tax regime it offered to the rich, the longest-running favorable tax regime with a history of 200 years and a remnant of the colonial era. The policy change has already led to a mass exodus of the wealthy from the country. At the same time in France, the political uncertainty that prevailed after early elections and the emergence of left-wing parties as winners forced many wealthy people to draw up plans to settle in other countries for fear that a left-wing government would fulfill its promise and impose a tax on big estate. Something similar has happened in Norway, which two years ago adopted a tax on large wealth and capital returns, with the result that since then there has been a steady flight of the very rich to Switzerland. And the government of Georgia Meloni decided last week to increase to 200,000 euros, from 150,000 euros that it was until now, the single tax that it imposes on those rich foreigners who choose Italy as their tax headquarters. Many European countries are being forced to impose a stricter tax regime or even completely withdraw the favorable tax treatment they have granted to wealthy foreigners under pressure from their voters. And this is because by settling, the rich bring wealth and consumption to a country, which, however, are accompanied by problems for the domestic population. Among them, the skyrocketing of real estate prices, the great pressures on public infrastructure and often the alteration of the character of the areas in which they settle, always to the detriment of their permanent residents.
The easy movements of the super-rich to areas with favorable tax regimes has intensified the competition between the countries concerned that offer them incentives to settle on their soil. Thus, new tax havens have emerged, such as Dubai and Singapore, competing with older ones such as Switzerland and Monaco. As reported by the Financial Times, countries that have either offered or currently offer favorable tax treatment to high-net-worth foreigners often allow them to enter into special tax agreements with local authorities. According to the British newspaper, the latest figures show that at least 4,500 people have paid taxes this way in recent years.
Global immigration consultancy Henley & Partners points out that the incentives offered by more and more countries have strengthened the tendency of millionaires to negotiate favorable tax treatment and move from one country to another. After surveying at least 150,000 ultra-rich people, the company predicts that 2024 will see the biggest wave of tycoon immigration to date. 128,000 millionaires and billionaires will immigrate and it will be the new record after the previous one of 120,000 recorded last year.
