Anyone who thinks that “chasing away billionaires” is even a thing that can happen needs to read The Myth of Millionaire Tax Flight by Cristobal Young, by far the most extensive actual study on the subject.
It makes sense intuitively. By the time you become a billionaire, you can live wherever you want and have any kind of lifestyle you desire. Billionaires living in Spain live in Spain because they want to live in Spain. And all wealth past a certain point is meaningless, just a number for bragging rights. Whether someone has $10 billion or $7 billion makes zero difference in their actual lifestyle or quality of life. If you’re already in a country you’re happy with, why leave for a tax that has absolutely no impact on your quality of life?
This is exactly what Young’s research shows; generally, when the wealthy move, they move to places with good quality of life. Tax brackets don’t really factor into it. Often raising taxes on the wealthy actually increases the attractiveness of a region because the wealthy want to live in places with low crime rates, good infrastructure, that sort of thing. And a well funded government has more capacity to create those things.
In 2024, approximately 7,500 millionaires left the UK, a figure that was already cause for concern among UK policymakers. However, in 2025, this number has more than doubled to a record 16,500, marking the steepest annual increase of HNWI net outflows on record.
That will be in large part because of the changes to the non-dom tax rules, where (broadly speaking) you could live in the UK, but opt out of the UK’s tax system and pay tax somewhere else where there wasn’t any tax. The people who left will largely be people who weren’t paying a meaningful amount of tax anyway.
Bingo. They’re not actually losing tax paying millionaires. This is entirely a benefit to the UK.
Also, let’s put that number in perspective. There are over three million millionaires in the UK.
That’s why you never, ever see news articles about tax changes supposedly driving away millionaires use percentages. Because if they did the headline would be that in two years the number of millionaires in the UK has shrunk by half a percent.
I lived in a country where that happened. The king gave land to peasants in return for serving in WW2 (which lead to desperate peasants who didn’t know how to use their rifles as more than clubs scaring the Germans away with their savagery). My wife’s great-great-grandfather (or maybe one more great-) got so much land that when the communists came and started arresting people for having too much wealth he split his land among his 6 sons, but they still ended up with too much and all 6 went to jail.
This is an interesting idea. Not as much about billionaires, but about how regions race to the bottom to attract investment. Just like major sports franchises get insanely good tax treatment by moving or threatening to move theier team. Each city tries to give the better deal.
The idea that if the local gov doesn’t collect, the federal will should mostly put an end to that kind of thing. Ensuring that local governments get the funding they need.
Something like this, but just for business tax would be absolutely huge for US cities. It would also mean teams would go where the fans are, and businesses would go where the employees are.
Being a millionaire is a drastically different situation than a billonaire. Anyone can reasonably save a million dollars over their life, or have that much in retirement accounts.
It’s when you have billions in solid assets you start to developed unregulated power
Remember that when you say that some group doesn’t have human rights you have willfully chosen to put yourself in the group of people that includes the worst of humanity.
The truth is some simply are parasites and not human. All they deserve is a relatively painless and quick death. Millionaires are among those just like landlords, politicians and journalists.
Anyone who thinks that “chasing away billionaires” is even a thing that can happen needs to read The Myth of Millionaire Tax Flight by Cristobal Young, by far the most extensive actual study on the subject.
A not amazon link for anyone in the States: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-myth-of-millionaire-tax-flight-how-place-still-matters-for-the-rich_cristobal-young/13944366/
It makes sense intuitively. By the time you become a billionaire, you can live wherever you want and have any kind of lifestyle you desire. Billionaires living in Spain live in Spain because they want to live in Spain. And all wealth past a certain point is meaningless, just a number for bragging rights. Whether someone has $10 billion or $7 billion makes zero difference in their actual lifestyle or quality of life. If you’re already in a country you’re happy with, why leave for a tax that has absolutely no impact on your quality of life?
This is exactly what Young’s research shows; generally, when the wealthy move, they move to places with good quality of life. Tax brackets don’t really factor into it. Often raising taxes on the wealthy actually increases the attractiveness of a region because the wealthy want to live in places with low crime rates, good infrastructure, that sort of thing. And a well funded government has more capacity to create those things.
I just tried finding it on Amazon. I got an error when opening it.
Don’t buy from the blue devourer when you don’t have to: https://www.sup.org/books/sociology/myth-millionaire-tax-flight
This link is working fine for me: https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Millionaire-Tax-Flight-Inequality/dp/1503603806/
I said yes and it put me through, but I swear it did show up the first time I accessed the page. Now it’s just letting me through.
Like this one?
https://www.forthcapital.com/au/articles/2025-wealth-migration-why-a-record-16-500-millionaires-are-leaving-the-uk-and-where-theyre-going
That will be in large part because of the changes to the non-dom tax rules, where (broadly speaking) you could live in the UK, but opt out of the UK’s tax system and pay tax somewhere else where there wasn’t any tax. The people who left will largely be people who weren’t paying a meaningful amount of tax anyway.
Bingo. They’re not actually losing tax paying millionaires. This is entirely a benefit to the UK.
Also, let’s put that number in perspective. There are over three million millionaires in the UK.
That’s why you never, ever see news articles about tax changes supposedly driving away millionaires use percentages. Because if they did the headline would be that in two years the number of millionaires in the UK has shrunk by half a percent.
3 million sounds low. I’d assume most home owners over 50 would be millionaires in 2025, or does it only count if a married couple has 2+ million?
In the UK, there are approximately 28.36 million homeowners. The average home price owned by homeowners varies, but as of July 2024, the average house price in the UK was £288,000, according to Avant Homes. - https://www.avanthomes.co.uk/about-avant/newsroom/home-ownership-statistics-for-the-uk
It definitely can happen. But at that point the best response is to lock down borders to prevent anyone from leaving the country.
Too much money? Straight to jail!
God I wish
I lived in a country where that happened. The king gave land to peasants in return for serving in WW2 (which lead to desperate peasants who didn’t know how to use their rifles as more than clubs scaring the Germans away with their savagery). My wife’s great-great-grandfather (or maybe one more great-) got so much land that when the communists came and started arresting people for having too much wealth he split his land among his 6 sons, but they still ended up with too much and all 6 went to jail.
Ah yes, the USSR model. If our policies don’t work, violate human rights until no one points out they don’t work.
Millionaires don’t have human rights
This is an interesting idea. Not as much about billionaires, but about how regions race to the bottom to attract investment. Just like major sports franchises get insanely good tax treatment by moving or threatening to move theier team. Each city tries to give the better deal.
The idea that if the local gov doesn’t collect, the federal will should mostly put an end to that kind of thing. Ensuring that local governments get the funding they need.
Something like this, but just for business tax would be absolutely huge for US cities. It would also mean teams would go where the fans are, and businesses would go where the employees are.
Being a millionaire is a drastically different situation than a billonaire. Anyone can reasonably save a million dollars over their life, or have that much in retirement accounts.
It’s when you have billions in solid assets you start to developed unregulated power
Remember that when you say that some group doesn’t have human rights you have willfully chosen to put yourself in the group of people that includes the worst of humanity.
That sounds like a full on liberal take.
The truth is some simply are parasites and not human. All they deserve is a relatively painless and quick death. Millionaires are among those just like landlords, politicians and journalists.
You’ve got to be a millionaire to retire
LOL lemmy moment