Home » News » Portugal benefits from the WEXIT effect

Portugal benefits from the WEXIT effect

It is expected that most of the approximately 9,500 large assets Those who will leave the United Kingdom this year will head to the EU, which at the end of December will receive more than 6,500 millionaires from Great Britain. The UAE will host the next largest cohort leaving the UK (+800 HNWI), followed by the US (+720), Australasia (+300) and the Caribbean islands in fifth place, with +250 millionaires leaving They will move permanently to its tropical coasts.

As a continuation of the Henley Wealth Migration Dashboard de 2024the international investment migration advisory company Henley & Partners y New World Wealth have published their latest forecast ahead of next week’s UK budget.

Based on data from the last nine months, the UK wealth exodus, or WEXIT, is expected to include 85 millionaires and 10 billionaires, and in an ironic reversal of Brexit fortunes, 68% are heading to Europe, with favorite destinations being Portugal, Italy, Malta, Greece, Switzerland, Monaco, Cyprus, France, Spain and the Netherlands.

Stuart Wakelingfrom the UK office of Henley & Partners, says: “The last two quarters have been record-breaking, with a 160% increase in applications from UK-based investors for investment migration programs in the last six months compared to the previous six months (October 2023 to March 2024). “The British have gone from 20th place on our firm’s list of client source markets in 2018 to fourth place this year in terms of global demand.”

The main reasons include the UK’s high tax rates and concerns about further tax rises that could be announced in Labour’s first budget in 14 years. New World Wealth research director Andrew Amoils says UK capital gains tax and wealth tax rates are among the highest in the world. “What many UK politicians and academics don’t understand is that there are several high-income countries around the world that do not charge capital gains taxes, such as Singapore, the UAE and even New Zealand. There is also a much longer list of countries that do not charge wealth taxes, including high-growth markets such as Canada, Australia and Malta.”

Peter FerrignoDirector of Tax Services at Henley & Partners, says that by promising not to increase income tax or VAT, the new Government has limited its ability to raise new revenue. “Inheritance tax is at a rate of 40% and applies to estates over £325,000, which is very high by global standards. Where assets remain under the control of the original owner, we expect restrictions on whether the transfer is effective for tax purposes or not. As for the “passed-through interest” tax loophole, the latest thinking is that taxing it at the full income tax rate would scare away much of the sector, so we expect some. change, but not until the end.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.