A partner at wealth management firm Saltus has warned the chancellor must use today’s Spring Statement to “promote stability at a time of increasing uncertainty”.
Charlie Ambler, who is also co-chief investment officer at Saltus, said: “High net worth individuals (HNWIs) are both drivers of the UK’s wealth and major contributors to tax revenue.
“Our recent Saltus Wealth Index identified high rates of tax as being a major barrier to growth for HNWIs, with top rate taxes picked out by 20 per cent and employer National Insurance and corporation tax highlighted by 12 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.
“This reflects the need for the chancellor to prioritise stability in [the] Spring Statement and avoid further tax rises that only serve to disincentivise Britain’s wealth creators.”
The report, covered in FT Adviser (25 February), revealed overall confidence in the UK economy had dropped to 66 per cent among high net worth individuals, well below the 84 per cent recorded before Labour’s Budget.
Robert Brodrick, private client partner at law firm Payne Hicks Beach, who advises HNWIs, said: “Confidence among UK HNWIs is proving increasingly fragile.
“This underscores concerns that the UK’s policy and tax environments are becoming less predictable and internationally competitive.
“It is particularly worrying that globally mobile investors are beginning to question London’s future as Europe’s financial capital, and I hope that the chancellor will use the Spring Statement on 3 March as an opportunity to restore certainty and confidence by announcing measures to attract globally mobile investors back to the UK.”
However, Ambler believes there is reason for optimism.
“The chancellor may have the headroom to do this. As inflationary pressures begin to ease, the Bank of England will be poised to deliver on its commitment to gradual and measured rate cuts.
“In turn, this will make mortgage payments more affordable for homeowners, as well as making their properties more attractive to prospective buyers.”
hereward.mills@ft.com
