John Healey has acknowledged the need to stem the exodus of wealthy individuals from Britain, as financier Sir Peter Lampl revealed he had moved to the United States and hedge fund founder Chris Rokos prepared to relocate to Greece.
Speaking at the start of the Labour Party Conference, the Chancellor said the Government wanted billionaires to remain in the UK because “they create the jobs and they can create the wealth for us”.
He said ministers were seeking to increase investment, business confidence and profits, but also suggested capital gains tax could rise in next month’s Budget.
Mr Healey pointed out that Britain has the lowest capital gains tax rate “of any European G7 nation”. The Budget is due to be announced on October 28.
Sir Peter, who founded the Sutton Trust charity, said he had left the UK because of traffic congestion in London. The financier, who is in his late 70s, criticised Mayor Sadiq Khan’s bike lanes, low-traffic neighbourhoods and other measures he described as “anti-car”.
He said he was too old to use the Tube and had found journeys into the City increasingly difficult.
“Nowadays in the back of a cab, you crawl through central London getting overtaken by joggers,” Sir Peter said.
He added: “Incredibly, our once great capital city now has the slowest-moving traffic of any capital in the world – and it’s dropping.
“That doesn’t look like progress to me. And it certainly isn’t fun.”
Earlier this month, it emerged that Chris Rokos, founder of Rokos Capital Management, was preparing to move to Greece.
Mr Rokos, whose wealth is estimated at £3 billion, was the UK’s third-biggest taxpayer in the latest fiscal year, having paid an estimated £330 million, according to the Sunday Times Tax List.
He has also pledged £190 million to the University of Cambridge, believed to be the biggest individual donation to a British university in recent years.
The prospect of a higher capital gains tax rate has been raised by Cabinet ministers Louise Haigh and Wes Streeting, who called for an increase over the summer.
Mr Healey also said he was considering whether a planned rise in fuel duty should go ahead, citing pressure on household finances.
“I’m conscious of these pressures and I will take them into account when I make my Budget decisions,” he said.
