Millionaires who want to pay more tax

 Nine in 10 millionaires are proud to live in Britain and three-quarters would be willing to pay more tax to ensure public assets get the funding they need, according to a poll.

Despite widely reported concern that the wealthy are emigrating to avoid higher taxes, the survey found millionaires were more concerned about medical workers moving away.

The research was carried out by Survation on behalf of Patriotic Millionaires UK, a nonpartisan network that campaigns for higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy. Members include the musician Brian Eno and the You-Tuber and former financial trader Gary Stevenson.

Patriotism
Charles Samuel Keene (1823-1891)
Photo Credit: Ashmolean Museum Oxford [CC BY-NC-ND]

Its survey of 501 millionaires found 88% agreed with the statement "I am proud to live in the UK", while 43% said the group they were most concerned about leaving Britain was doctors and other health staff.

Just 9% were most worried about millionaires moving abroad, while 19% put business owners as the biggest losses to the country.

While 75% said they would be willing to pay more tax to ensure "the social, cultural, and economic attributes" that make them proud to live in the UK are properly funded, 64% also said taxes on the capital and assets of the wealthiest should rise to reduce the tax burden on everyone else.

Financial markets are watching closely to see if Keir Starmer will be replaced by a more left-wing candidate as prime minister, as the Labour party considers how to react to their disastrous local election results.

Some of the economic ideas connected to candidates such as Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting  have included a rise in capital gains tax to pay for a 2p cut in national insurance.

Phil White, a founding member of PM UK, said: Millionaires like us know how lucky we are to live in the UK and, as this polling shows, we are more than happy to invest in our country's future."

White, a former business consultant and engineer, said doctors, young people and business owners were "the backbone of our country - they are the real wealth creators".

More than 4,000 doctors left the UK to practise abroad in 2024, figures from the General Medical Council show, while net outward migration by British people was 109,000 in 2024.

There has been concern that emigration is being fuelled by high net worth individuals due to rising taxes. But patriotic Millionaires UK said this has largely been based on misleading reports, such as one that warned of an "exodus" of 16,500 millionaires from the UK last year, but this represented only 0.5% of its 3 million millionaires.

(Tom Knowles, The Guardian, 2026)

An antidote to the continuous rhetoric from certain sections of the British media who give the impression that millionaires are leaving the country in great numbers to escape paying too much tax. This survey seems to indicate that many UK millionaires would like to pay more tax including one on their assets and capital. How refreshing to read about their concern for a really progressive way to reduce the burden of taxation on those who can least afford it.