UK millionaires back wealth tax to keep doctors in Britain

Three-quarters of UK millionaires would pay more tax to stop doctors and other skilled professionals leaving Britain, new polling shows.

The figure comes from a Survation poll of 501 UK millionaires conducted for Patriotic Millionaires UK between 1 and 15 April 2026, surveying people with assets over £1 million excluding their main home.

43% of those polled said they were most concerned about doctors and other qualified health staff leaving the UK. Young people and business owners leaving each worried 19% of respondents. Only 9% said they were worried about other millionaires leaving the country.

75% of UK millionaires said they would be willing to pay more tax to protect and strengthen the social, cultural and economic foundations they value in Britain.

88% said they were proud to live in the UK, citing the country’s culture and history, family and friends, creativity and innovation, and the outdoors as the main sources of that pride.

The findings cut against repeated reports of a millionaire exodus and warnings that the wealthy would leave if taxed more.

“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,” said Phil White, engineer and member of Patriotic Millionaires UK.

“It’s also no surprise to see that millionaires value doctors, young people, and business owners more than other millionaires, because people like this are the backbone of our country, they are the real wealth creators.”

Higher taxes

79% of millionaires polled would be willing to pay higher taxes to create opportunities for young people, while 64% said the government should increase taxes on the wealthiest to cut income tax, VAT and National Insurance for small businesses and individuals.

61% said the very richest should pay for the economic fallout of the war between the United States and Iran. 55% support taxing wealth at the same rate as work, and 59% backed a “settling-up fee” for people who build personal wealth in the UK using its infrastructure and services before leaving the country.

Patriotic Millionaires UK is calling for a 2% tax on wealth over £10 million, which it estimates would raise £24 billion a year, and for Capital Gains Tax to be reformed and equalised with income tax, raising a further £11.3 billion a year.

The group said the changes would help rebalance an economy in which 40 families now own the same wealth as the bottom half of the UK population.

Wages across most of the economy have barely moved in real terms for more than a decade, while the cost of living has continued to rise.

“Most UK millionaires said they are proud to live in the UK because of our nation’s culture and history, followed by pride in their family and friends, the UK’s creativity and innovation, and our great outdoors, but the reality is all of these things will be at risk unless we reduce inequality,” White said.

“The best way to do that, and to raise much-needed money for our country and public services, is to tax the super-rich. Working people support raising taxes on the very richest, as do millionaires, and we urge the Government to support it too.”

Now read: Nearly a third of Britain’s 350 richest no longer live on the British mainland