Tax Crackdown and Non-Dom Abolition Sees UK languish at 21st in Nomad Capitalist Freedom Index
The UK has been dealt another blow in its standings as an international financial hub after it was ranked 21st in an all-new global financial “Freedom Index” analysis.
Just one year on from Labour’s ascent to power, and amidst uncertainty surrounding public finances, the UK has been rated less competitive than countries including Portugal, New Zealand, Ireland and the Netherlands in a ranking that assessed a variety of factors - including financial freedom, asset protection, safety and quality of life.
It was also decisively defeated by joint-first-placed Mauritius, still riding high after the government’s £3.4 billion Chagos Islands helped support tax-cutting commitments for 80 per cent of the Indian Ocean island’s workforce.
Researchers from boutique consulting firm Nomad Capitalist, which specialises in advising high net-worth individuals in strategic relocation and offshore wealth, said the results indicate the UK is moving in an “unfavourable direction”, with “increasing regulations, higher taxes, and stricter immigration policies” likely to “discourage wealth-generating entrepreneurs and investors”. The abolition of the ‘non-dom’ tax regime was deemed to have had a negative effect on the UK’s ranking, risking the accelerated emigration of local High-Net-Worth Individuals to more competitive jurisdictions.
The Nomad Capitalist Freedom Index, in its first iteration, highlights the countries where personal liberty, financial sovereignty, and lifestyle flexibility survive and thrive. In total, it ranks nearly 200 nations worldwide - and five individual US states - on a variety of factors, with globally minded entrepreneurs, investors, and families in mind. The Index builds on Nomad Capitalist’s established portfolio of global rankings, including the Nomad Passport Index, Nomad Beach Index, and Nomad Real Estate Yield Index.
The UK did, however, score top marks under the Asset Protection category - weighted at 25 per cent of its overall score in the study, but failed to repeat the feat elsewhere.
In Financial Freedom, its 40 out of 50 score indicates an economy with “moderate tax, minor restrictions [and] some red tape”, as well as “occasional uncertainty” in areas like cryptocurrency. It also was identified as second-rate in Safety and Quality of Life.
Each category is scored using a fixed-band points system based on quantitative and qualitative data from Nomad Capitalist’s proprietary Insider Research and nearly 30 trusted public sources.
The firm’s analysis also found that the United States was lingering behind the leading pack - ranking in joint 29th alongside Australia and St Kitts and Nevis.
They were superseded by countries including Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Japan. Its total score was hampered by a poor ranking for Safety - its score judging “moderate unrest; social issues and unreliable enforcement.”
Ireland ranked in fifth place, charting full marks for Financial Freedom, Safety, and Human Rights.
Commenting on the publication of the Freedom Index, Nomad Capitalist Research and Development Associate, Javier Correa, said:
“The first-ever Nomad Capitalist Freedom Index is a game-changer for global citizens. Not only does our new index evaluate freedom country-by-country and more comprehensively than ever before, but it also educates and empowers high-net-worth individuals and families on their journey to live more freely.”
“While the West still preaches liberty, countries like the UK and US have become poster children for bloated bureaucracy, rising taxation, and the mismanagement of public finances. From entrepreneurs to investors, globally minded citizens need to understand that the Western world has changed and they may need to look elsewhere, so the Nomad Capitalist Freedom Index is a blueprint for them to go where they are treated best.”
Adrian Jennings is a writer for Comment Central.
