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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to ask how you would stop companies and investors leaving the UK?

335 replies

LargeDeviation · 09/07/2025 14:39

AstraZeneca (the UK's most valuable company) has said they are thinking of delisting from the London Stock Exchange with a view to list in America. Other companies like Invidia, TUI, have also delisted. ARM is of course another one that got away.

At the same time, billionaires and centimillionaires are leaving the UK at the greatest rate ever.

Each delisting leads to redundancies or lower future growth. Each billionaire lost needs the equivalent of thousands of median income taxpayers to make up the tax lost.

What would you do to stop the rot? My solutions:

  1. Incentivise listings: Allow extremely large bonuses and executive remuneration as long as they are tied to long-term performance. Remove stamp duty on shares. Bring back reduced oversight for AIM etc so small companies can easily list. Actively invest government funds in high-tech incubator companies (as long as it's done by the likes of the Vaccine Taskforce, not by idiot civil servants whose idea of good governance was to try to obstruct the OneWeb investment).

  2. Incentivise share ownership in UK companies. Reduce dividend taxes. Revive the idea of the British ISA from Jeremy Hunt. Introduce low long-term capital gains tax rates (as many other countries have) to encourage long-term investing. Simply cutting Cash ISA allowances won't help.

  3. Encourage entrepreneurs and the rich to come to Britian rather than leave. Reverse the non-dom changes. Large increases in IHT allowances, cut the top rate of income tax. These tax cuts can be conditional on providing a large number of jobs to British workers to make them politically palatable.

  4. Cut corporation tax back to 20%. Sunak made a huge error in increasing corporation tax.

  5. Ditch the Rayner changes which makes Britain even more uncompetitive.

Of course Labour won't do any of the above (or even acknowledge that companies/investors leaving the UK is a problem)...

OP posts:
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Gagcaa · 12/07/2025 12:54

BIossomtoes · 12/07/2025 12:47

If they’re paying their taxes it’s irrelevant what they do with their money after that.

Oh gosh. They obviously don't declare all their earnings. They are builders. Cash in hand. Also they are here illegally

BIossomtoes · 12/07/2025 12:47

taxguru · 12/07/2025 12:11

Only if they're working full time and legally paying ALL their taxes, i.e. declaring ALL earnings and not doing undeclared cash work.

Only if they've not brough their dependants with them.

Only if they're spending their earnings in the UK and not sending most of it back to their relatives in their home country.

Etc Etc.

If they’re paying their taxes it’s irrelevant what they do with their money after that.

Thelostjewels · 12/07/2025 12:13
  • the scandal came out recently of over seas students who are supposed to be at a certain level of attainment in English, couldn't speak it .

They were on degree level courses and had fake certificates or real certificates from fake assessment companies. Then the fake student could bring their entire family over !!
And meanwhile causing issues on their actual course because they couldn't understand English.

It's one huge racket to get into our country and every way needs to be monitored.

And on top of all of this we have to tear up green belt to build more houses.

taxguru · 12/07/2025 12:11

Jennps · 12/07/2025 11:22

This thread is a great example of why this country is a mess. The number economically and fiscally illiterate people celebrating that rich people are leaving and how great it is that we are left with people like themselves who will probably never even contribute enough to the tax system to sustain themselves. Scary to think that these people get to vote.

This country will soon only be left with these small island mentality handout takers, looking around wondering why their begging bowl is empty.

Nail on the head.

taxguru · 12/07/2025 12:11

BIossomtoes · 12/07/2025 11:31

So contributing to the economy.

Only if they're working full time and legally paying ALL their taxes, i.e. declaring ALL earnings and not doing undeclared cash work.

Only if they've not brough their dependants with them.

Only if they're spending their earnings in the UK and not sending most of it back to their relatives in their home country.

Etc Etc.

nearlylovemyusername · 12/07/2025 12:09

Jennps · 12/07/2025 11:22

This thread is a great example of why this country is a mess. The number economically and fiscally illiterate people celebrating that rich people are leaving and how great it is that we are left with people like themselves who will probably never even contribute enough to the tax system to sustain themselves. Scary to think that these people get to vote.

This country will soon only be left with these small island mentality handout takers, looking around wondering why their begging bowl is empty.

100%

Gagcaa · 12/07/2025 11:49

Jennps · 12/07/2025 11:45

Not unless they are earning a certain amount and have no dependents.

They have dependents. And main thing is, they broke the law.

Jennps · 12/07/2025 11:45

BIossomtoes · 12/07/2025 11:31

So contributing to the economy.

Not unless they are earning a certain amount and have no dependents.

Gagcaa · 12/07/2025 11:37

BIossomtoes · 12/07/2025 11:31

So contributing to the economy.

Illegally breaching their visa conditions.

EasternStandard · 12/07/2025 11:36

Jennps · 12/07/2025 11:22

This thread is a great example of why this country is a mess. The number economically and fiscally illiterate people celebrating that rich people are leaving and how great it is that we are left with people like themselves who will probably never even contribute enough to the tax system to sustain themselves. Scary to think that these people get to vote.

This country will soon only be left with these small island mentality handout takers, looking around wondering why their begging bowl is empty.

Yes the anti paying in sentiment will mean we’re left with a very high state burden.

TheNuthatch · 12/07/2025 11:34

BIossomtoes · 12/07/2025 11:31

So contributing to the economy.

Only if they came alone and reached a high enough salary.

BIossomtoes · 12/07/2025 11:31

Gagcaa · 12/07/2025 11:21

I know a few who came over on student visa for sham courses. Overstayed and are now builders.

So contributing to the economy.

TheNuthatch · 12/07/2025 11:22

Gagcaa · 12/07/2025 11:21

I know a few who came over on student visa for sham courses. Overstayed and are now builders.

Yep. Happens all the time.

Jennps · 12/07/2025 11:22

This thread is a great example of why this country is a mess. The number economically and fiscally illiterate people celebrating that rich people are leaving and how great it is that we are left with people like themselves who will probably never even contribute enough to the tax system to sustain themselves. Scary to think that these people get to vote.

This country will soon only be left with these small island mentality handout takers, looking around wondering why their begging bowl is empty.

Gagcaa · 12/07/2025 11:21

TheNuthatch · 12/07/2025 11:20

Yes I do. Some (not all) were taking the piss, particularly with student visas. My ds studied abroad. That didn't mean that our entire family could go with him. It needed tightening up in many ways. Whatever your views on immigration, the numbers were (and still are) far too high. Something had to give.

I know a few who came over on student visa for sham courses. Overstayed and are now builders.

TheNuthatch · 12/07/2025 11:20

BIossomtoes · 12/07/2025 11:05

Take the politics out of it, do you really think it’s a sensible approach?

Yes I do. Some (not all) were taking the piss, particularly with student visas. My ds studied abroad. That didn't mean that our entire family could go with him. It needed tightening up in many ways. Whatever your views on immigration, the numbers were (and still are) far too high. Something had to give.

BIossomtoes · 12/07/2025 11:05

Take the politics out of it, do you really think it’s a sensible approach?

TheNuthatch · 12/07/2025 11:03

BIossomtoes · 12/07/2025 10:56

I don’t understand why this is a good thing. Decreasing the number of productive people (those with work visas) and those bringing money into the economy (international students) while presiding over the highest number of asylum seekers on record doesn’t seem particularly sensible to me. Surely it should be the other way round?

Perhaps you should lobby Labour as they have continued with it, and claimed credit when the numbers halved.

BIossomtoes · 12/07/2025 10:56

I don’t understand why this is a good thing. Decreasing the number of productive people (those with work visas) and those bringing money into the economy (international students) while presiding over the highest number of asylum seekers on record doesn’t seem particularly sensible to me. Surely it should be the other way round?

Gagcaa · 12/07/2025 10:48

EasternStandard · 12/07/2025 10:37

Same. He was right about that imo

A lot of what was aimed at him was media fabricated, the drink in a meeting, his wife, the card thing

The actual policies were better than Labour’s are now.

And he was right about taxes going up, I recall the backlash over that.

I remember people having a go at him for paying for someone's petrol for an advert. Like he paid for someone's petrol top up and then people had the audacity to complain.

He went to serve the homeless food and people complained about him asking someone if they wanted to get into finance.

Gagcaa · 12/07/2025 10:43

BIossomtoes · 12/07/2025 10:38

What measures? Any stats for that?

I feel that they slowed the increase at least

BIossomtoes · 12/07/2025 10:38

TheNuthatch · 12/07/2025 10:19

Yes. He (and James Cleverly) also introduced measures which have massively reduced immigration.

What measures? Any stats for that?

EasternStandard · 12/07/2025 10:37

TheNuthatch · 12/07/2025 10:25

Fair point. I agreed with him on that too personally. I didn't agree with him on some of the covid measures, such as excluding the self employed from furlough.
It's a shame that the tories were ungovernable by the time he came to office imo.

Same. He was right about that imo

A lot of what was aimed at him was media fabricated, the drink in a meeting, his wife, the card thing

The actual policies were better than Labour’s are now.

And he was right about taxes going up, I recall the backlash over that.

Gagcaa · 12/07/2025 10:36

TheNuthatch · 12/07/2025 10:25

Fair point. I agreed with him on that too personally. I didn't agree with him on some of the covid measures, such as excluding the self employed from furlough.
It's a shame that the tories were ungovernable by the time he came to office imo.

I think after Partygate and Liz Truss fiasco it was a sinking ship. Things were actually looking up in summer 2021. The economy was unlocking, things were looking up.

Our current PM actually went and complained about the unlocking.