Nigel Farage’s new proposal for wealthy foreign residents is a “bonanza for billionaires” that would create a “massive black hole in the country’s finances”, Labour has said.
Ellie Reeves, the chair of the Labour Party, insisted that working people would be left to foot the bill for what she termed “dangerous and unfunded Liz Truss style policies.”
The criticism came after Farage, the leader of Reform UK, unveiled his “Britannia Card” policy on Monday morning.
The plan would reinstate a version of the “non-dom” tax status for wealthy individuals for a one-off “landing fee” of £250,000. In return, wealthy individuals would receive an indefinite exemption from UK tax on their offshore income and a 20-year shield from inheritance tax.
All of this fee, Farage has said, would be given to Britain’s lowest-paid full-time workers through an automatic tax-free dividend via HMRC.
Reform UK claims the policy would “encourage the return of wealth and talent to the United Kingdom”.
The Labour government abolished the non-dom tax status in April, which is where UK residents whose permanent home — or domicile — for tax purposes is outside the UK.
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Speaking at a press conference, Farage positioned his policy as a solution to a growing “anti-money” narrative, arguing that for years “the rich have got richer, and those at the lower end of the scale are simply no better off.”
Farage said: “In 14 years in power under the Conservatives, we saw taxes go up, we saw thresholds frozen.
“We saw significant changes to non-dom tax rules. Indeed, there were something like 150,000 people with non-dom tax status ten years ago.
“That number today probably, we don’t know officially yet, but probably nearer now to 60,000 than 70,000. And falling very, very quickly.”
Farage said that since 2008 “the rich have got richer, and those at the lower end of the scale are simply no better off”.
He added: “It all goes back to the bailouts. It all goes back to the failures of the banking system in 2008, when effectively it was the little man and woman bailed out the big banks.”
Turning to his plan, Farage commented that “we want, as a party, as many entrepreneurs, as many risk takers, as many job creators, as many people paying lots of tax, and as many people to invest in huge sums of money…
“That is why today we’re coming up with this idea of the Britannia Card.”
In response, Labour dismissed the plan as a giveaway to the super-rich.
Reeves said: “Nigel Farage’s new policy is quite simply a bonanza for billionaires.
“Not only is this a golden giveaway to the rich, but experts warn this will leave a massive black hole in the country’s finances that working people will be left to pick up the bill for.
“Reform UK is not serious or credible. Every family in the country would foot the bill for their dangerous and unfunded Liz Truss style policies which would devastate Britain’s economy.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here and X here.
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