What is Nigel Farage’s £250,000 Britannia card and how would it work?

Nigel Farage has announced a big idea to shake up the tax system if his Reform party ever get into power – and it’s all centred around what he calls the Britannia card.

The so-called ‘card’ is really a deal with wealthy foreigners and British expats who want access to a bespoke tax system that could save them money.

There would be a hefty price tag attached to this agreement though: a one-off payment of £250,000.

Under Farage’s plan, that money would then be redistributed to some of the country’s lowest-paid workers in the form of an annual payout.

Labour have argued the arrangement would end up leading to tax hikes on working families, as the government would miss out on funds it would have got from people who choose to buy the card.

Here’s what would happen under the system proposed by Reform.

What is a Britannia card?

The Britannia card is a snappy name given to the new tax plan suggested by Nigel Farage and his Reform party.

It aims to stop wealthy non-doms – people whose permanent home is outside the UK for tax purposes – from leaving the country, while also boosting the income of the poorest.

The offer is simple: pay a one-off fee of £250,000 to the government and they won’t be taxed on any wealth, income or capital gains earned abroad. They also wouldn’t need to pay inheritance tax.

Holders of the Britannia card would still need to pay tax in the normal way for any income and gains earned in the UK.

The second part of the plan is even more radical. All the cash collected from those one-off fees would not go towards public services like the NHS, police or schools: instead, it would be sent directly to the bottom 10% of UK earners.

In effect, it’s a form of ‘Robin Hood tax’, taking money from the rich and redistributing it to the poor.

According to Reform’s sums, if 6,000 non-doms paid for a Britannia card each year, that would give a £600 income boost to 2.5 million of the lowest-paid Brits.

What have people been saying about it?

In a press conference today, Farage responded to a description of his wealth redistribution plan as ‘profoundly left-wing’ by saying that ‘could not be further from the truth’.

He argued: ‘We’re saying we want people who make loads of money to come in to Britain in huge numbers and pay lots and lots of tax and buy lots of houses and spend lots of money.’

But Labour said non-doms would only pay for the card if the fee is less than the amount of tax they already pay, meaning it would reduce overall tax revenues.

A spokesperson said: ‘As ever with Reform, the devil is in the detail.

‘This giveaway would reduce revenues raised from the rich that would have to be made up elsewhere – through tax hikes on working families or through Farage’s promise to charge them to use the NHS.’

Analysis from Tax Policy Associates published this morning estimated the cost of the policy would be around £34 billion over five years.

The group said it would discourage highly skilled professionals who cannot afford the £250,000 payment from moving to the UK, while also providing a ‘very large and expensive tax windfall to a small number of very wealthy people who are already here’.

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