… To be considering leaving the UK?

How are "we" boosting salaries at the top? "We" just pay the going rate.

How would "we" pull people put of any specific wage?

No need to tell me, just give the Treasury a ring, they should get things back under control in weeks with your clever economic insights. All without doing anything unpopular.

People have lives, friends, jobs, schools, property and as you say, the wealthy can avoid much of any new taxation.

Upping sticks is not as easy as it once was for British citizens without another passport.

Golden Visas gone and all of Europe taxes are higher than UK...

Just because someone of non British descent, who was here for just a few months of the year and now isn't, doesn't mean people are "leaving in droves"

We should be more concerned about teachers and HCPs leaving the UK, they are our future not a few casual billionaires - the latter does get a few on here very excited.

The problem is in a globalised world and incoming AI capabilities many jobs can just be outsourced from the UK. This model only works if all jobs have to be done in the UK.

Maybe we should be pulling more very hard working people out of NMW salaries then instead of boosting the income of the tiny percentage at the top. Just a thought.

A lot people I know who've looked into moving for a "better" standard of life have concluded it's not worth it. Lower tax regimes tend to come with high cost of living once all the things you actually need are factored in, unless you're looking at the Middle East in which case you're often living in a weird ex-pat bubble and a very different legal framework which trips-up a lot of people - I've heard some horror stories from a friend who contracts a lot out there.
Friends who've moved for the same standard of living but a different lifestyle - for example Aus and Canada have been quite happy, although as other PP have noted some things are cheaper and some things are a lot more expensive.
Two couples who moved somewhere that one partner really wanted to be and the other was lukewarm about have split up over arguments about whether to stay or come back.
You also need to think about family - after my best friend emigrated to the other side of the world, her Mum announced she was moving to be with her, which is very claustrophobic for friend and her DH. If she hadn't moved so far and could afford the time and the flights to visit more frequently this would not be an issue.

I mean I do NOT want to pay more taxes - funny slip

OP, I’m also a high earner, triple citizenship (two EU and British). I prefer a cooler climate but also truly want to pay more taxes so plan to sell up and go. I was just looking at housing and jobs in Ireland last night (I’m in a professional role) and couldn’t find too many that would work for me although it might be different for you. So the next country I’m considering is Switzerland - depending on where you live you can pay little taxes. I would sell all my assets in the UK. Inheritance tax is free up to 1m CHF and then between 0.1% and 7% so amazing! And I see quite a few jobs going. Do keep this thread alive as I’ve now really decided I’ve had enough and want to be off around this time next year (need to sell house and find a job in the meantime)

Why?

It's not fear mongering. We are literally running out of tax payers. 50% of us don't pay tax. 20% of us are so disabled we need tax payers to fund us.

The state works by a load of people paying in and few people taking out. When that balance goes it all falls apart.

Yes I agree.

Verify away. It’s fear mongering.0.5% is not an exodus, state schools are not closing for any other reason than falling birth rates and shifting families in London and Birmingham and re the successful being vilified that’s ridiculous.

bylinetimes.com/2025/01/24/no-there-has-not-been-an-exodus-of-uk-millionaires-and-new-wealth-taxes-wont-force-them-to-leave-either/

I know loads of expats also, I live in another country and there are many people who have moved here from the UK. I live in a small rural town and have yet to meet a woman who isn't happy to be here - two of them moved here with partners and after they split stayed on.

So, we cancel each other out.

If you tax the wealthy they just leave- whether you like it or not. They have advisors who use the rules to plan tax effectively and can move where they like. So it is the middle earners, those on PAYE who get hammered for tax.

There are quite a few British style curriculums I think Brighton recently expanded to senior school, one thing would be if you want DC to sit GCSE and A-level as that will cut your list of schools

Tanglin has recently moved away from their waiting list to a more annual evaluation which may make it easier to get a place

Mine are at NLCS and have been happy so far

The DC bump into DC from multiple schools really think it’s a preference thing on where to go - we prioritised having immediate places in the same school vs switching around although I realise lots of people do that

Every family situation is different. Happy there are people who like paying taxes to support the country. Life is short and it's ok to want different lifestyle. It's not better or worst - people want different things in life. If people are unhappy with the situation in UK, like OP , I would definitely say look into moving. We were higher tax payers in the UK with kids in private school. We moved earlier this year to SG. There are of course positives and negatives but on balance we are very happy with our move.

This is not a coincidence 🤓

Canadian doctors are in a special position vis-a-vis the US as they are not considered IMGs (this will apparently change in a few years). So they can apply to the US residency match and qualify here. I'm told there's no issues with getting a visa. I also know of doctors who did Canadian residencies and worked here without redoing it. Americans also get special consideration in Canada though it's not automatic except for family medicine.

Sometimes I wonder if we should have applied to Canada instead of coming to the US given the state things are in! But I have American citizenship and family here. Yes getting a GP can be tricky but in the UK they just pile everyone onto the list so you can't get an appointment.

As for education: I find that the English tend to measure everything against A-Levels. In Canada, generally, the median is higher, but the expectations for the top students aren't as high (I say this knowing a lot of Canadians). The college and university sector in Canada is diverse and includes many types of degrees. You need to compare like with like. The research oriented universities are excellent and frankly are benefiting from people leaving the US. The colleges are generally not trying to be academic powerhouses but to provide locally relevant courses. That said, just like the UK, some colleges have got themselves in trouble with recruiting overseas students to bring in money.

Cripes would people leave the US out of this discussion… the OP doesn’t want to move there 😁

The reason for the migration of doctors to the US is likely salary… that being said a Canadian doctor can’t just drive south and hang up a shingle in the US. Their training needs to be recognized and accepted in the US and there are more hurdles to jump through.

Their undergrad degree is probably not a big deal though.

(Not going to lie it’s a bit entertaining to see Canada in the hot seat for once. Hasn’t happened to me since I saw a Canadian backpacker turned away from Spain over commercial fishing in the ‘90s)

They are happening, which is why increasing numbers of those with the means to are leaving. They’re also not being replaced. What you think people should do doesn’t reflect the reality of what they’re actually doing. Similarly, ignoring the detrimental impact of chasing away wealth because it’s ideologically inconvenient doesn’t mean it ceases to exist, or that it won’t get worse.

The UK has the one of the highest, if not the highest, rates of wealth flight in the world. When targeting higher earners and the wealthy results in them upping sticks and not paying anything at all, it may be a good idea to consider what’s more important to you - satisfying the ‘fuck anyone with more money than me’ narrative, or you know, actually getting those things you’ve mentioned paid for.

Why because people aspire to more? Because we see education as important? Because we make it equal and possible for all? Because we value higher education and allow kids to make that choice not based on socioeconomics?

They are highly regarded and respected. Unfortunately you just don’t know what you are talking about. Or it bothers you that a country has it right so you want to bring it down and are skeptical?

Heres an example - Canadians have a brain drain of doctors to the US so degrees aren’t worth anything there either if they want our doctors?

And while I’m here, yeah Canada has universal free healthcare too.

I deal with HMW private clients and we discuss amongst others in our sector how rich people from the UK often don't get on with going ex pat. It's not all its cracked up to be when you actually have family here.

As you're a citizen of nowhere crack on and move where you like.

We do have clement weather compared to extremes further south. I'd like the sun but not if it gets too hot.

Have you been to university in both countries? No three years of hard work based on an international standard aren’t a joke.

At the end of the day, wealthy drifters have always been a thing. For some, having no roots anywhere is not an issue, of course.

What matters is always keeping your health and wealth in order to be able to visit your DC and grand kids in Sydney, Vancouver, NYC, UAE- wherever. You need to consider that you are raising global nomads, too; DC who will also head to where the tax burden on wealth is least. But kids who may not always prioritise you in old age as other priorities will win out over far distant parents.

I think it’s absolutely fine to chase good weather, low tax, gated homogeneity, transient friendship.

But everything has its price.

A Canadian degree is highly regarded especially in U.S., Europe, and Asia and graduates in business and STEM are very employable. Like any degree it value depends on the subject and Uni.
Canada leads the G7 in post secondary school education attainment.

I confess, 60% of people getting a degree isn't making it sound that rigorous to me.