Peter Hargreaves: Britain cannot afford to lose more ‘big taxpayers’
Lancashire-born entrepreneur who co-founded Hargreaves Lansdown says people with private wealth ‘have been disenfranchised’
Billionaire Peter Hargreaves has warned against hitting wealthy individuals with higher taxes, saying that Britain cannot afford to lose more “big taxpayers” such as hedge fund manager Chris Rokos.
The co-founder of Hargreaves Lansdown, the largest DIY investment site in Britain, said that Rokos’ plans to move his residency from the UK and the departure of other affluent entrepreneurs “is a real loss” given the amount of tax revenue they generate for the country.
Hargreaves reportedly paid £210mn last year in tax and is the sixth-biggest taxpayer in the UK, with an estimated wealth of more than £2bn, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.
The Lancashire-born entrepreneur donated £1mn to the Conservative Party in 2019 — something he said was now a “regret” — and £3.2mn to the Leave campaign in 2016.
Speaking to the FT, Hargreaves said he worries that other billionaires could depart the UK as a result of the tax regime and concerns of more punitive levies in the Budget next month, warning that “you can’t lose many of those; you lose four, you’ve lost £1bn [in tax]”.
He added: “I believe that the private sector, the people with private wealth, have been disenfranchised,” pointing to taxation on wealthy individuals and businesses. “Which government is going to favour successful businessmen?”
His comments come after Fred Done, Britain’s biggest taxpayer, told the FT he was “too old” to join the ranks of rich residents leaving the country, but that he would “not wish to be reborn” in the UK.
Rokos, a hedge fund billionaire, is moving his residency to Greece, which has an annual flat tax of €100,000.
The departure of affluent individuals over the past few years, including steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, has partly been driven by the abolition of the non-dom regime.
Concerns over higher taxes have risen in recent weeks, as economists expect further increases in the Budget next month to shore up public coffers. However, it emerged on Thursday that Chancellor John Healey may accept a smaller fiscal buffer to reduce tax rises in the Budget.
Last week, Jim Ratcliffe, the founder of petrochemical company Ineos, who was one of Britain’s richest people before he moved his tax domicile to Monaco in 2020, reportedly said that he had lost confidence in the UK and that it was “on the slide”.
“I completely disagree with Ratcliffe,” Hargreaves told the FT. “The country isn’t on a slide, it’s slid . . . This country is never, ever coming back, it’s finished.
“There are so many people on the public purse that it would be very difficult for any government to change that.”
He added: “Not only are businessmen being taxed more, but it’s . . . more difficult for [businesses] to operate . . . businesses that employ a lot of people have been hit massively with the increase to national insurance and, of course, minimum wage.”
Last year, employer national insurance rose from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent while the threshold — the point at which employers became liable to pay it on employees’ earnings — dropped from £9,100 a year to £5,000. The national minimum wage increased by 50p this year for adults over 21 years old to £12.71 per hour.
But Hargreaves said he did not have plans to move his residency. “I haven’t bought my ticket yet,” he said.
Hargreaves, an ardent supporter of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, added: “I do regret the donation I made,” but noted that “I think if I saw a party that was making really sensible noises, and felt they were going to do it, then I might be likely to [donate].”