David Sullivan, chairman of West Ham United and certainly one of Britain’s wealthiest people, has criticised the Authorities’s tightening of non-dom tax guidelines, blaming the adjustments for driving the super-rich in another country.
Sullivan, who’s the soccer membership’s largest shareholder, has reduce the asking worth of his 21,000 sq ft London mansion by £10m to £65m, citing excessive rates of interest and upcoming tax reforms as main components.
The property, positioned in Marylebone, has been in the marketplace since late 2023. Sullivan informed Bloomberg: “What the Government is doing to the non-doms isn’t very nice, and a lot of rich people are leaving the country as a result of what they anticipate in the Budget. Three or four of my friends have already gone to Monaco or Dubai.”
At 75 years outdated, Sullivan now faces promoting the mansion, which boasts luxurious options like a 12.7 metre swimming pool, scorching tub, health club, and a sky lounge, at a loss. The businessman, price an estimated £1.1bn, spent round £75m shopping for and renovating the property, which has served because the backdrop for movies like The King’s Speech and Amy Winehouse’s Rehab music video.
The problem centres round non-doms—UK residents who maintain tax domiciles elsewhere—who at present profit from not paying native taxes on abroad earnings for as much as 15 years. The federal government, nevertheless, below plans introduced by former chancellor Jeremy Hunt, is ready to part out non-dom standing by April 2025. The reforms would restrict new arrivals to a four-year grace interval earlier than full taxation on international earnings kicks in, whereas present non-doms would have a two-year transition interval. The crackdown has raised considerations of a big exodus of the rich from the UK.
Sullivan’s frustrations replicate a wider sentiment among the many UK’s super-rich, who’re fearful about potential capital features and inheritance tax hikes within the upcoming Funds. Christian Angermayer, a cryptocurrency billionaire, lately relocated to Switzerland, labelling the Authorities’s non-dom tax crackdown as a “huge mistake”. Charlie Mullins, Britain’s richest plumber, has additionally listed his £12m London penthouse on the market as he prepares to flee the nation.
Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, is reportedly contemplating diluting the proposed non-dom reforms amid fears that the measures could not generate the anticipated £2.7bn by 2028. Treasury officers are involved that the tax adjustments may backfire, triggering a mass departure of rich people from the UK.
Sullivan, who constructed his fortune within the Seventies by means of the grownup leisure trade earlier than increasing into property, soccer, and media, co-owns West Ham United and is joint chairman of the membership. His choice to cut back the worth of his mansion displays wider struggles in London’s super-prime property market. In accordance with Knight Frank, solely 10 properties priced above £30m modified arms within the 12 months to July, in comparison with 38 within the earlier 12 months.
Jamie Younger
Jamie is a seasoned enterprise journalist and Senior Reporter at Enterprise Issues, bringing over a decade of expertise in UK SME enterprise reporting.
Jamie holds a level in Enterprise Administration and repeatedly participates in trade conferences and workshops to remain on the forefront of rising tendencies.
When not reporting on the newest enterprise developments, Jamie is captivated with mentoring up-and-coming journalists and entrepreneurs, sharing their wealth of information to encourage the following era of enterprise leaders.
