News in Brief

‘Wexit’ Too Good to Check

The British press telling porkies? On behalf of millionaires? Whatever next?

As Josiah Mortimer reports, a supposed millionaire ‘exodus’ that was given blanket coverage in the British media – credited to the Labour Government’s decision to weaken reforms to ‘non-dom’ tax avoiders – did not actually happen, according to a new study by the Tax Justice Network.

The 10,900 news pieces on the supposed ‘exodus’ across print, broadcast, and online news outlets in 2024 were primarily based on a report published by Henley and Partners – a firm that helps arrange so-called golden passports that allow the super-rich to secure residence rights or citizenship through investment or simply paying for it. The European Court of Justice recently ruled one such golden passport scheme, covering Malta, to be unlawful.

Henley and Partners labelled the UK’s alleged exit of millionaires a “Brexodus” in 2023 – claiming that it was largely an impact of Brexit.