Lakshmi Mittal considers leaving UK over 'non-dom' tax crackdown: Report

The Mittal family owns 40% of the €24 billion company.

Steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal is considering leaving the UK in response to the Labour government’s decision to abolish the “non-dom” tax regime, making him one of the wealthiest business figures to potentially relocate, the Financial Times reported.

Mittal, who has been based in the UK for nearly 30 years, has told associates that his likely departure is driven by the government’s move to end tax exemptions for certain foreign income and gains, the report stated.

“He is exploring his options and will take a final decision over the course of this year,” a friend of Mittal told Financial Times. “There is a good chance he will cease to be a UK tax resident.”

Ranked seventh on the Sunday Times Rich List last year with an estimated £14.9 billion fortune, Mittal owns high-value properties across Europe, the US, and Asia, including a mansion on London’s Kensington Palace Gardens and a chalet in the Swiss resort town of St Moritz. According to sources cited by the Financial Times, he has also been investing in Dubai real estate.

A self-made billionaire, Mittal transformed his steel business into ArcelorMittal, the world’s second-largest steel producer. In 2021, he stepped down as CEO, passing leadership to his son, Aditya Mittal, while remaining executive chairman. The Mittal family owns 40% of the €24 billion company.

If Mittal moves out of the UK, he will join a growing number of wealthy individuals opting for lower-tax jurisdictions such as the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, and Italy following Labour’s tax overhaul, Financial Times noted.

The non-dom tax regime, which had been in place for 226 years, allowed UK residents with a permanent home abroad to avoid paying British tax on foreign income. In March 2024, then-Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced plans to scrap the policy, a move Labour’s Chancellor Rachel Reeves later reinforced in the October Budget. She also tightened inheritance tax rules, eliminating offshore trusts as a tax-avoidance mechanism.

Critics of the crackdown argue that the exit of high-net-worth individuals could ultimately harm the UK economy. They point to the significant tax contributions such individuals make through income, consumption, and employment, along with their philanthropic efforts.

According to the Financial Times, UK taxpayers who relocate abroad can typically spend up to 90 days a year in Britain, with a limit of 30 working days annually.