UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Tax expert Dan Neidle warns Farage’s “Robin Hood” plan may cause a £34bn revenue loss, raising concerns about its benefit to Britain’s economy.
As reported by The Independent, a leading tax analyst has warned that Nigel Farage’s proposed tax plan, aimed at attracting the wealthy, could lead to major losses for the UK.
What did Dan Neidle say about Nigel Farage’s £250k Britannia card plan?
Tax expert Dan Neidle has criticised the Britannia card scheme, which would allow wealthy individuals to pay a one-off £250,000 fee to enter the UK tax system.
He warned,
“We believe there are three very serious problems with the policy. First, it would discourage highly skilled professionals from moving here – they couldn’t afford the £250,000 and would face a much worse tax outlook than they ever have in the UK, and worse than most other comparable countries. The Reform UK proposal would make the UK uncompetitive.”
Mr Neidle said,
“Second, all the recent changes to the non-dom regime mean that any Government would struggle to persuade the very wealthy that the ‘Britannia card’ would really provide a lifelong exemption, so take-up would be very limited.”
He added,
“Third, and most seriously, the card would provide a very large and expensive tax windfall to a small number of very wealthy people who are already here. Office for Budget Responsibility data shows that this would amount to £34bn of lost Government revenue over five years. That would have to be funded by either tax increases or spending cuts.”
What did Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuf say about the Britannia card scheme?
Reform UK estimates the scheme could generate £2.5bn annually, intended to be distributed as £1,000 payments to those on the lowest incomes.
Nigel Farage and ex-chairman Zia Yusuf of Reform UK defended the proposal, stating it has begun to draw interest. They argued it would attract fresh investment from wealthy individuals who left the UK or avoided it due to high taxes.
Mr Farage said,
“Over the last few years, a political narrative that has got stronger and stronger is tax the rich.”
He argued that Conservative and Labour governments
“didn’t understand human behaviour. Didn’t understand the sheer mobility that modern-day entrepreneurs and wealthy people have the last year, for which we have full figures showing that 10,800 wealthy people left the country, some of them non-dons, some of them British too.”
Mr Yusuf raised concerns that high taxes are forcing investors to leave the UK.
He stated,
“We have to be honest about one of the key ingredients as to how one makes that happen. One key ingredient is that we need the wealthiest job creators, wealth creators and entrepreneurs to be here in the UK. And right now, the opposite is happening.”
Former party chairman cited a Bloomberg report revealing that 4,000 company directors have left the UK since Labour came to power.
He said,
“This card will be available to foreign internationally wealthy people who are going to come here and create jobs and take risk, as Nigel says, they will pay a landing fee of a quarter of a million pounds.”
Mr Yusuf added,
“So the UK will become incredibly attractive to the internationally wealthy, but they must contribute immediately to the prosperity of the country and make a direct contribution into the pockets and the bank balances of the lowest 10 per cent of earners in full-time work.”
Britannia card plan
The scheme includes:
- A £250,000 one-off entry fee from wealthy foreigners or returning Brits
- A 10-year UK residence permit
- Exemption from UK tax on overseas income and assets
- No inheritance tax for cardholders
- A return to the remittance basis of taxation
- Redistribution of collected fees as £600–£1,000 tax-free payments to the bottom 10% of UK full-time earners
- Payments are issued annually via HMRC
- Policies aimed at benefiting low-paid workers in regions like Wales, Scotland, and the north-east of England
- Reform UK claims the plan will raise £1.5–£2.5bn per year, depending on uptake
- Only full-time workers in the bottom income decile qualify for the payout