UK's third-biggest taxpayer Chris Rokos to leave for Greece
Chris Rokos, Britain's third-largest taxpayer after paying £330m, plans an Athens office as Greece offers generous flat tax rates for wealthy expats.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- UK's third-highest taxpayer Chris Rokos is planning to establish an office in Athens.
- Greece offers an attractive flat yearly tax of 100,000 euros for wealthy foreign earners.
- The relocation comes ahead of Chancellor John Healey's upcoming budget announcement.
- Rokos previously made headlines with a £190 million donation to Cambridge University.
Chris Rokos, the British billionaire ranked as the third-largest taxpayer in the United Kingdom, is reportedly planning to open an office in Athens, capitalising on favorable tax regulations offered by the Greek government for high-net-worth individuals.
According to reports originally broken by Bloomberg, the decision follows Greece's implementation of tax rules that allow qualifying foreigners to pay a flat annual levy of 100,000 euros, equivalent to approximately 86,000 pounds, on all income generated outside the country.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Ranked third in The Sunday Times tax list, Rokos paid a staggering 330 million pounds to the UK Treasury last year. His move also coincides with his philanthropic milestone announced in March, where he pledged 190 million pounds to Cambridge University to establish a new school of government, recognized as one of the largest modern donations to a British university.
While the exact motivations behind Rokos's relocation remain undisclosed to the public, tax expert Dan Neidle noted that there are currently no straightforward answers or robust statistics regarding the financial impact of ultra-wealthy individuals exiting the UK tax system.
"It is enough to fund 4,500 teachers... we have entire taxes that raise less than £330m."
Dan Neidle
The exodus of ultra-high-net-worth taxpayers poses a structural challenge for national treasuries, as a tiny fraction of top earners contributes a substantial share of income tax revenues. European nations offering non-domicile or flat-tax regimes frequently attract affluent individuals seeking to optimize their global tax liabilities legally.
This development unfolds just ahead of UK Chancellor John Healey's inaugural Budget scheduled for October 28. In a recent interview with the BBC, Healey did not rule out potential tax hikes as public finances face mounting pressure from rising government borrowing costs.
Source: BBC Business
Found something wrong in this article? Report an issue with this article
Comments
Leave a Comment