DeVere: Shambolic UK Budget to spark wealth exodus
The shambolic leak of the UK budget minutes before the speech underscores a shambolic government whose Budget will 'drive an exodus of wealth from Britain,' warns the CEO of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations.
The warning from deVere Group’s Nigel Green comes as the OBR’s mistakenly published documents show an extraordinary tax squeeze heading for high earners, homeowners and professionals across the UK.
The leak exposed the full scale of the Chancellor’s plans before she even reached the despatch box, revealing a £26 billion tax rise that propels the overall burden to its highest share of GDP in modern records.
Markets, advisers and globally mobile clients now have clear evidence of where this government intends to extract revenue, and the implications are already reverberating through the wealth sector.
Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, says the leak itself is symptomatic of a wider problem. 'You can’t tell the world you want to stabilise the UK economy and then allow the centrepiece fiscal document to appear online by accident. That extraordinary kind of lapse signals operational weakness. Investors and high earners will be seeing it as a warning about the government’s overall direction.'
The OBR papers confirm a multi-year freeze on income tax thresholds through to 2030–31. The decision locks workers into relentless fiscal drag and pulls more income into higher bands year after year.
For advisers working with internationally-mobile clients, the trajectory is unmistakable. Nigel Green warns that this is precisely the type of structural change that triggers relocation planning.
'When a government fixes thresholds while inflation and wages rise, it quietly increases tax every year,' he says. 'People who generate significant economic activity can relocate easily. They analyse long-term patterns, not political slogans.'
The document also confirms that households with properties above £2 million face a new tax raid. That announcement lands at a moment when high-end buyers are already questioning whether the UK remains one of the world’s most stable property markets. Nigel Green says this is a significant turning point.
'International buyers and senior executives see property taxes as a test of policy predictability,' he says. 'A new levy on higher-value homes signals a government willing to target assets whenever revenue is needed. That is enough to shift investment strategies away from the UK.'
The leak goes further, confirming a £4.7 billion hit from scrapping National Insurance relief on pension contributions above £2,000 and the end of the long-standing fuel duty freeze.
These measures feed into a single narrative: the Treasury is raising revenue from every direction simultaneously. Nigel Green notes that pension taxation in particular has a powerful behavioural impact.
'People make long-term decisions about where to work, where to build wealth and where to retire,' he says. 'When rules around pensions tighten sharply, it undermines confidence in the broader system. Wealth moves where governments show stability over decades, not sudden extractions.'
The OBR documents show the Chancellor has expanded her fiscal headroom to £22 billion, a figure achieved purely through heavier taxation rather than stronger growth. That distinction matters.
Britain is competing with jurisdictions actively reducing barriers for high earners and entrepreneurs. The UAE, Singapore, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, among others have all targeted mobile wealth with precision. Several European states have simplified regimes to attract global talent. Against that backdrop, the UK is choosing to raise taxes to a historic high of 38.3% of GDP by 2031.
Nigel Green says the global competition for capital is intensifying. 'People with worldwide opportunities compare the UK’s choices with alternatives elsewhere,' he notes. 'They see higher taxes without the growth to justify them. They see a government relying on extraction rather than expansion. They see policy changes arriving through leaks rather than discipline. This accelerates decisions to relocate assets, careers, retirements and families.'
The consequences extend far beyond high earners. When wealth leaves, investment follows. When investment falls, innovation slows. The UK’s long-term growth rate depends on retaining individuals and businesses that can deploy capital quickly and at scale. A Budget built on threshold freezes, property levies, pension tax raids and historic tax burdens sends the opposite signal.
The deVere CEO concludes that the leak has clarified everything. 'The documents reveal a government that places the heaviest load on those with the greatest mobility. That is how a wealth exodus from Britain begins. It will not be loud at first. It will be systematic, rational and global.'