UK’s wealthy rush to beat possible tax hike on capital gains

Expectations of a tax hike on capital gains have turned the prospect into the “No. 1 issue” for wealthy Britons, who are rushing to ensure they aren’t hit by any increase ahead of the 28 October budget.

Investors are seeking to take advantage of the current 24% higher-rate of capital gains tax before Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey announces any new measures for raising revenue, according to multiple wealth advisors who spoke to Bloomberg. So-called CGT is levied on an individual’s profits from an asset sale.

Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey Image: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

“A lot of people are rushing to get deals done in order to secure the current capital-gains tax rate,” said Chris Etherington, a private client tax partner at RSM UK who advises business owners, entrepreneurs and individuals. “We are seeing people trying to accelerate deals ahead of the budget.”

Later this month Healey will unveil short-term help with the cost-of-living, while also seeking to stabilise public finances hit by spending pressures and the fallout from the US-Iran war. The prospect of an increase in CGT is still a live one, according to a person familiar with the matter, even while matching it to income tax rates is unlikely.

Capital gains tax fears are “the No. 1 issue”, said Iain Tait, head of the private investment office at wealth-management firm W1M. “We’ve had a lot of clients asking about what they could do to crystallise gains at 24%.”

A spokesperson for the Treasury declined to comment, in line with standard practice ahead of budgets: “Decisions on tax are a matter for the chancellor to set out at fiscal events, rather than routinely commenting on rumor, speculation or proposals.”

Read: A new era of tax residency: Why the old approach no longer works

Healey is taking his decision on capital gains against the backdrop of a wealth exodus, with individuals representing about $160 billion on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index already leaving the UK in the past two years.

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Most of that group originally hail from overseas, but the recent relocation of British hedge fund founder Chris Rokos to Greece has underscored a growing unrest among local entrepreneurs.

A poll of 500 UK business owners during August for London-based professional services group S&W found about half that population would consider relocating if capital gains taxes are increased at the Autumn budget.

“We’d be unsurprised if we saw the top rate of CGT climb to 26% or even 28%,” said Ollie Saiman, co-founder of wealth manager Six Degrees.

Rachel Reeves, Healey’s predecessor as chancellor, increased the rate of capital gains tax paid by those earning above £50 271 ($66 600) from 20% to 24% at her first budget in 2024, while increased the rate on lower earners from 10% to 18%.

The move generated a short-term windfall for the Treasury, with combined revenues from CGT and inheritance tax exceeding £30 billion in 2025-26 – up almost 40% on the previous fiscal year – as Britons anticipating the increase disposed of assets.

One investor nervous about a further capital gains tax hike is Konstantin Sidorov, whose London-based investment fund is sitting on a gain of more than 500% through its bet on Revolut Ltd, the UK fintech giant founded by billionaire Nik Storonsky.

Sidorov called a dedicated wealth tax a “red line” that would make him consider relocating after more than a decade.

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“My feeling is quite bad – the question is: How bad?” the 59 year-old said in an interview. If capital gains taxes rise, “we’ll see much less investors who would like to take more risks”.

Read: Tax change could hit South Africans with spouses living abroad

Harold Wilson’s Labour government first introduced levies on capital gains during the 1960s to stymie taxpayers’ attempts to avoid higher taxes on income.

Three decades later, then-Chancellor Gordon Brown introduced a tapered relief on capital gains that rewarded long-term holdings, that his successor, Alistair Darling, scrapped in 2008.

John Caudwell, the founder of Phones 4u, benefited from that system when he sold the UK phone retailer for about $1.6 billion two decades ago, and sees its reintroduction as a way to encourage Britain’s young entrepreneurs.

“Let’s motivate them to keep it for 20 or 30 years by the tax rate and motivate inward investment,” Caudwell, 74, who plans to leave at least 70% of his fortune to charitable causes, said in an interview.

John Caudwell Image: Betty Laura Zapata/Bloomberg

“As a young entrepreneur, you grow your business, you stick with it, you keep fighting, you keep pushing, you keep generating jobs knowing that eventually you’re going to have a favorable tax rate. That really makes it worthwhile. And that causes you not to bail out after 10 years.”

The race to replace Keir Starmer as UK prime minister over the summer sparked fears over further hikes for capital gains taxes, after his replacement, Andy Burnham, recommitted to Labour’s 2024 manifesto promise not to hike income tax, national insurance or Vat – a commitment which left CGT exposed.

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Burnham has since hinted he doesn’t want his government to repeat the scale of hikes to budget taxes under his predecessor, but the possibility of capital gains hikes are lingering amid the tough financial backdrop facing Healey.

Read: Tax on investments: What investors need to know in 2026

Given his repeated commitments to fiscal discipline, he must find £35 billion to meet the Labour government’s spending ambitions, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned.

As a share of GDP, the UK’s debt pile has been remarkably stable since the pandemic, and the government is wary of increasing borrowing when rates are so high.

A possible uplift in wage gains as estimated by the government’s fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, would also help limit the need for more taxes and borrowing, according to a Bloomberg Economics analysis published on Wednesday.

“I don’t think people like Healey are daft,” said Ben Yearsley, investment director at Fairview Investing Ltd, said of the prospect of steep CGT increases. “However there are lots of idiotic backbenchers whose mantra is tax the rich without thinking of the consequences.”

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