Confidence in financial system amongst rich Britons falls to document low with inheritance tax a significant concern

Confidence among the wealthiest people in Britain has fallen to a record low, research claims. 

Among the wealthy, confidence in the economy has fallen to 48 per cent, down from 84 per cent just six months ago.  

High levels of taxation, and notably inheritance tax, was deemed the most off-putting thing about living and working in Britain, according to the 2025 Saltus Wealth Index Report. 

One in four high net worth individuals surveyed said they think inheritance tax should be abolished, while three in five believe the threshold to start paying IHT should be increased. 

‘For people who believe that the views of wealth creators and tax payers matter, the news in this report is not good’, Jon Macintosh, a partner at Saltus – a wealth management firm – said. 

The report, which tracks the pulse of 2,000 people with assets of £250,000 or more, found that the ‘majority’ of wealthy people who voted Labour in the general election now regret their decision.  

Macintosh added: ‘It is no surprise therefore that large numbers of our respondents are now considering moving abroad and many of those that voted Labour now wish that they hadn’t.’

Among high net worth individuals, confidence in the economy is now lower than it was in the aftermath of the Liz Truss budget, when it fell to 67 per cent. 

The proportion of wealthy people surveyed who said they were ‘very confident’ in the economy fell to 19 per cent, a record low since the survey’s launch in 2021. 

In terms of regretting voting for Labour, 18 per cent this was down to inheritance tax policy changes, while a further 18 per cent said adding VAT to private school fees was problematic. 

Fifteen per cent said they were concerned about the increase in employer national insurance contributions announced by Rachel Reeves in October 2024. 

Meanwhile, 83 per cent of high net worth individuals surveyed said they think Labour will increase taxes further in the next 12 months. 

Most surveyed said they believed capital gains tax, income tax and inheritance tax could all be targeted by Reeves in 2025. 

One respondent claimed Labour would ‘raise any tax they can get away with’, with another adding ‘you just know that a Labour Government will increase the tax take where and when it can’. 

Others felt Labour was more likely to tax by stealth in its approach.

One respondent said: They won’t raise rates but will freeze income tax and other thresholds, which is a tax rise.’

Nearly half of people surveyed said they believed tax rises were the single biggest threat to their wealth, behind only inflation and up from 22 per cent six months ago.

The report also showed that many wealthy people think high tax rates and a complex tax system remained the biggest barrier to wider economic growth. 

The proportion who felt their tax burden was too high increased to 45 per cent, up from 40 per cent in August 2024 and 31 per cent in December 2023. 

Stephen Abletshauser, a partner at law firm Spencer West, told This is Money: ‘Unfortunately my experience professionally and personally would reflect this status of all-time low confidence.

‘Nearly all of my legacy clients had a UK base as non-doms and have left the UK. 

‘And many of my friends and clients and colleagues are looking to do the same as the equation is out of balance and they feel taxation is too high and public services deteriorating by the day.’

He added: ‘The mindset of this new Labour government is one of tinkering, like with the non-dom rule, lying (“no more tax rises on working people”), apathy – ie., no reduction in a bloated state -services will cost more but service remain the same but taxes are at an all time high – and a social welfare system which needs reform but none is forthcoming. 

‘A quarter of households never pay tax in the UK and we need those parts of society engaged fruitfully and commercially also.

‘Business Britain desperately needs material incentives to new and existing international and local wealth generators in such a mobile world where electronic meetings became routine during Covid.

‘The City of London was behind Oman and 18 other countries with capital raising last year and it’s fair to say Brexit’s longer term consequences have their part in that also.

‘The immigration situation should look more like Australia or Singapore and be merit based yet it seems the system is based on quotas and not merit still.’ 

I’m looking to move to Dubai 

Speaking to This is Money, Patrick Reid, a millionaire and co-founder of The Adamis Principle, said: ‘The only thing I am surprised at is how long it took for high net worth people to leave when Labour got into power.

‘The Sir Keir Starmer smoked salmon and scrambled egg charm worked (not for me) during the honeymoon period, but the now government is neither left or right when it comes to growth and the future.

‘What irks my clients is the stealth tax, for example, VAT on private school fees, with no real growth plan. The fiscal disaster is one thing but what about the UK Macro picture? The recent bounce in GDP had zero affect on UK sentiment.

‘A lot of our business is in Dubai and I will be going out there in April to lay the ground work to potentially move there.

‘Inheritance tax is only part of the problem. The frightening thing for us is the “unknown” future stealth. What comes around the corner – is anyone’s guess.’

Mike Stimpson, a partner at wealth management firm Saltus, said: ‘The extent to which the confidence of high net worth individuals has collapsed demonstrates a missed opportunity for the new government, who had high levels of support when they came to power and drove the highest levels of HNWI confidence in the UK economy we have ever recorded. 

‘Confidence is a critical component in growth, and the fact that this vitally important group of people – the wealth creators, employers and investors in the businesses of tomorrow – feel that the UK economy is not on the right track is a cause for concern.’

Dr Michael Peacey, a senior lecturer in the school of economics at the University of Bristol, said: ‘The decline in the Index reflects substantial shifts across several key measures and underscores a period of mounting apprehension among HNWIs about the UK’s economic prospects. 

‘There has also been a shift in how HNWIs feel about taxation in the UK, with anxieties about taxes rising further continuing to weigh heavily on HNWIs.’

He added: ‘Looking ahead, it will be interesting to observe whether HNWIs follow through with their plans to react to the UK’s economic challenges. Such actions could have significant implications for both the domestic economy and global perceptions of the UK as a hub for wealth creators.’

A HM Treasury spokesman told This is Money: ‘We are keeping the UK internationally competitive, with our main CGT rate lower than any other G7 European country. 

‘Our new residence-based regime is simpler and more attractive to new arrivals than the non-dom regime it replaces.

‘Under our Plan for Change we are kickstarting economic growth, with EY-Parthenon finding 82 per cent of UK CEOs polled felt optimistic about the business landscape over the next 12 months’.