China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Britain’s richest man heads into tax exile
The United Kingdom’s wealthiest man, who is also a leading Brexiteer, is reportedly leaving the country to live in the Mediterranean tax haven of Monaco.
Petrochemical engineer Sir Jim Ratcliffe, 65, has a fortune estimated at more than 21 billion pounds ($27 billion), according to the 2018 Sunday Times rich list.
The son of a joiner and an office worker, he studied chemical engineering at university and went on to set up Ineos, a company with an annual turnover of 45 billion pounds, which employs more than 18,500 people at 181 sites in 22 countries. Its products can be found in food packaging, insulation, antibiotics, and the production of toothpaste.
Ratcliffe was knighted earlier this summer for his services to business and to investment, and in addition to his support for Brexit, has advocated the controversial practice of fracking to tap into new underground gas sources.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that two other Ineos executives, Andy Currie and John Reece, are also relocating to Monaco. The company’s only comment was that it is “committed” to retaining its London headquarters.
The Telegraph also said Ratcliffe has previously complained about taxes in Britain, but after Brexit he relocated Ineos’s head office back to London from Switzerland as a sign of his faith in Brexit, saying he would be happy to pay “much more tax”.
“I am optimistic, not just about the future of Ineos, but also the future of the UK,” he told The International Business Times newspaper in 2016.
“To reflect our growing British businesses, Ineos is now tax resident in the UK. We are at peace with the level of corporation tax (pegged at 19 percent from 1 April, 2017) levied by the current government.”
A leading Brexiteer
One of his justifications for Brexit is that British people can look after themselves.
“The Brits are perfectly capable of managing the Brits and don’t need Brussels telling them how to manage things,” he said, adding, “I just don’t believe in the concept of a United States of Europe. It’s not viable”.
Before the British Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 in March 2017, which set in motion Britain’s departure from the European Union, Ratcliffe said he felt confident Ineos would not be seriously destabilized by the outcome.
“We are a very well diversified business, with British roots, geared to cope with short-term volatility,” he said. “Despite the political rhetoric both from Brussels and London, I believe that eventually cooler heads will prevail, leading to a sensible outcome on trade talks.”