Wealthy Brits jumping ship for Australia, US after Brexit vote: report

A wave of wealthy migrants arrived from the UK last year amid concerns about post-Brexit tax changes, say new report.

Samantha Bailey

According to the UK Wealth Report the UK’s traditionally high inheritance taxes made Australia and the US more appealing post the UK Brexit vote. Picture: Istock

less than 2 min read

12:56PMNovember 15, 2018.

Updated 5:48PMNovember 15, 2018

Australia started to see an influx of high net wealth migration from the UK last year, and with the threat of a bad Brexit deal looming, it’s a trend that could continue.

According to the UK Wealth Report, published by research company New World Wealth this month, the UK’s traditionally high inheritance taxes made Australia and the US more appealing post the UK Brexit vote.

Australia has no inheritance taxes, and in the US, the inheritance tax threshold is much higher than it is in the UK.

Both Australia and the US experienced large inflows of high net worth individuals in 2017.

“London was obviously a hotspot for migrating high net wealth individuals for many years,” the report said.

“However, this trend appears to have changed over the past couple years as migrating high net wealth individuals now prefer moving to other international cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, New York, Geneva and San Francisco.”

Based on New World Wealth data, the UK had previously been a hotspot for inbound migration of high net worth individuals but that trend changed in 2017, as about 5000 high net wealth individuals left the UK and only 1000 entered.

Rising crime levels and rising religious tensions, particularly in London, deterred high net wealth individuals from staying in the country, New World Wealth said.

“A large number of wealthy Londoners have left the UK altogether — many of these individuals have gone to the US and Australia,” the report said.

New taxes on foreigners with homes in the UK made it more expensive for migrating high net worth individuals to buy homes there.

London is currently the second wealthiest city in the world after New York, with total wealth at about $US2.7 trillion.