Three-quarters of UK millionaires would be happy to pay more tax, research finds

Nine in 10 UK millionaires are proud to live in Britain and three-quarters would be willing to pay more tax to ensure public assets get the funding they need, according to research.Despite widely reported concerns that the wealthy are choosing to leave the country owing to higher taxes, the survey found millionaires were much more concerned about medical workers moving away than wealthy people emigrating.The research was carried out on behalf of Patriotic Millionaires UK, a nonpartisan network of rich people which campaigns for higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy, with members including the musician Brian Eno and the YouTuber and former financial trader Gary Stevenson.Its survey of millionaires found 88% agreed with the statement “I am proud to live in the UK”, while 43% said the group they were most concerned about leaving Britain, in terms of impact, was doctors and other qualified health staff.Just 9% said they were most worried about millionaires moving abroad, while 19% named young people and another 19% put business owners as the biggest losses to the country.While 75% said they would be willing to pay more tax to ensure “the social, cultural, and economic attributes” that make them proud to live in the UK are properly funded, 64% also said the government should increase taxes on the capital and assets of the wealthiest individuals to reduce the tax burden on everyone else.The survey comes as financial markets watch closely to see if Keir Starmer will be replaced by a more leftwing candidate as prime minister, as the Labour Party considers how to react to their disastrous local election results.Some of the economic ideas connected to candidates such as Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting have included a rise in capital gains tax to pay for a 2p cut in national insurance.Phil White, a former business consultant and engineer and a founding member of Patriotic Millionaires UK, said: “Millionaires like us know how lucky we are to live in the UK and, as this polling shows, we are more than happy to invest in our country’s future.“It’s also no surprise to see that millionaires value doctors, young people, and business owners more than other millionaires, because people like this are the backbone of our country – they are the real wealth creators.”More than 4,000 doctors left the UK to practise abroad in 2024, figures from the General Medical Council revealed last year, the highest annual total in a decade.On a wider basis, about 257,000 British nationals left the UK in 2024, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, 91% of whom were working age (18-64). However, 143,000 returned over the same period, meaning net outward migration by British people was 109,000 in 2024.There has been concern that this wave of emigration is being fuelled by high net worth individuals leaving the country due to rising taxes, as well as young people in search of work.However, Patriotic Millionaires UK said this has largely been based on misleading reports, such as one from Henley & Partners, a global migration firm, which said there was an “exodus” of 16,500 millionaires from the UK last year. This represented just 0.5% of the UK’s 3 million millionaires.The survey was conducted by Survation and polled 501 UK millionaires with assets over £1m, excluding their home. Patriotic Millionaires UK said the sample size reflects the smaller section of society that millionaires take up in the UK.