In a bid to control inflation, bring down debt and control public finances that are spiralling out of control, Britain’s Labour Party government is set to raise taxes that includes smaller revenue-raising measures such as a “mansion tax” on expensive homes and a pay-per-mile tax for electric vehicle drivers.
Amidst this, India-born steel magnate, Lakshmi Mittal, owner of the world’s second-largest steel producer, ArcelorMittal, has decided to leave the UK, his residence since 1995, for Switzerland and Dubai.
Having topped The Sunday Times Rich List a record eight times, Mittal has been a prominent figure in British society, his personal wealth peaking in 2008 at £27.7 billion, which was the highest-ever recorded by the UK daily, when adjusted for inflation. In 2025, he was valued at £15.444 billion.
Sources familiar with Mittal’s relocation plans said his decision follows the Labour Party government’s move to abolish the ‘non-dom’ tax status, which allowed foreign nationals to pay UK tax only on local income.
“It wasn’t the tax on income [or capital gains] that was the issue,” an adviser familiar with the family’s decision told the paper, adding, “The issue was inheritance tax. Many wealthy people from overseas cannot understand why all of their assets, wherever they are in the world, should be subject to inheritance tax imposed by the UK Treasury. People in this situation feel they have little choice but to leave and are either sad or angry to be doing so.”
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While Dubai and Switzerland are known to be tax-free havens, inheritance tax in the UK can reach 40 per cent.
Besides owning a residence in Dubai, he’s also bought prime plots in the Cheval Blanc development on Naïa Island, each marketed at $25 million. Additionally, Mittal also owns a $200-million mansion in Emirates Hills, often called the ‘Beverly Hills of the Middle East”.
Mittal’s big relocation move comes days before UK Chancelor, Rachel Reeves, announces her second Budget on Wednesday, which is expected to bring more tax hikes in pursuit of the elusive economic boom.
The government says Reeves, who is also the Treasury chief, will make “tough but right decisions” in her budget to ease the cost of living, safeguard public services and keep debt under control.
Britain’s economy, the world’s sixth-largest, has underperformed its long-run average since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, and the centre-left Labour Party government elected in July 2024 has struggled to deliver promised economic growth.
From the Covid-19 pandemic to the Russia-Ukraine war, and US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the UK has borne the brunt, in addition to the burden of Brexit, which has knocked billions off the economy since the country left the European Union in 2020.
The government currently spends more than 100 billion pounds (USD130 billion) a year servicing the UK’s national debt, which stands at around 95 per cent of annual national income.
In a speech on November 4, Reeves laid the groundwork for income tax hikes by arguing that the economy is sicker and the global outlook worse than the government knew when it took office.
But, critics say more taxes on employees and businesses, following tax hikes on businesses in last year’s budget, will push the economy further into a low-growth doom loop.
Meanwhile, despite leaving the UK, the Mittals have no immediate plans to sell their Kensington Palace Gardens properties, valued at over $300 million.
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