London, Lakshmi Mittal, the Indian-born chairman of ArcelorMittal and one of Britain’s wealthiest residents, is preparing to shift his primary residence away from the UK, in a move widely attributed to the Labour government’s aggressive tax-raising agenda targeting high-net-worth individuals.
According to a report in The Sunday Times, the 75-year-old steel magnate, whose fortune is estimated at £15.4bn (approximately ₹1.8 lakh crore), placing him eighth on the latest Sunday Times Rich List, has decided to establish a new base in Dubai or Switzerland. Sources close to the family say the principal concern is the potential extension of UK inheritance tax to worldwide assets, combined with the abolition of the 200-year-old non-domiciled regime and rumours of a possible “exit tax” on unrealised capital gains.
A family adviser told the newspaper: “The biggest worry is inheritance tax. Most wealthy non-UK nationals simply do not understand why Britain believes it has the right to levy 40 per cent on their global estates. It is forcing people to leave.”
The anticipated changes form part of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s forthcoming Budget on 26 November, in which she is expected to raise up to £20bn to plug what Labour has described as a “£22bn black hole” in the public finances. Speculation is mounting that the statement could include the introduction of an exit charge of up to 20 per cent on unrealised gains for long-term residents leaving the UK, alongside further increases in capital gains tax rates (already scheduled to rise from 10 per cent to 14 per cent next April and potentially to 18 per cent in 2026).
Mr Mittal, who moved to London in 1995 and owns several properties on Kensington Palace Gardens — colloquially known as “Billionaires’ Row” — including the famed “Taj Mittal” mansion, is understood to be retaining a substantial London foothold. However, the family’s tax residency is expected to shift to the United Arab Emirates, where inheritance tax is zero and where Mr Mittal already owns a luxury villa and has recently acquired land on Dubai’s exclusive Na Island. Switzerland is also under consideration.
The steel tycoon is the latest in a string of ultra-high-net-worth individuals to reconsider their UK domicile since Labour’s election victory in July. Revolut co-founder Nikolay Storonsky has already relocated to Dubai, while Improbable AI founder Herman Narula, who has lived in Britain since the age of two, is also reportedly moving to Dubai.
Economists and tax advisers warn that an exodus of wealthy residents risks undermining the UK’s attractiveness as a global financial centre. High-net-worth individuals not only contribute substantial income and capital gains tax but also bring investment, philanthropy and employment. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has previously estimated that the top 1 per cent of earners already pay nearly 30 per cent of all income tax.
ArcelorMittal declined to comment on Mr Mittal’s personal tax affairs. A spokesperson said: “Mr Mittal remains executive chairman of ArcelorMittal and continues to spend considerable time in London.”
The development will intensify the political debate over Labour’s fiscal strategy, with critics arguing that higher taxes on wealth and capital risk driving away the entrepreneurial talent and investment the UK needs to revive lacklustre growth. Supporters of the measures counter that it is fairer for the wealthiest to contribute more during a period of strained public finances.
As one Mayfair-based wealth manager remarked: “When you combine the end of non-dom, rising CGT, potential IHT on worldwide assets and whispers of an exit tax, the maths for many global families becomes irresistible: why stay?”
