Britain’s Economic Crisis

A recent Sydney Morning Herald article discusses research from Lloyds TSB International Wealth showed 19% of wealthy Britons were thinking of moving to Australia, the United States, New Zealand and Canada or to the euro zone countries like France and Spain.

• One in five Britons with more than 250,000GBP in savings are thinking about this
• Main reasons; tired of crime, poor weather and high cost of living
• Government trying to preserve image as a safe-haven for the international rich while increasing taxes and slashing public spending
• About half a million people in Britain have more than 250,000 pounds in savings or investments that exclude property.

Lloyds TSB International Wealth Director Nicholas Boys Smith, who oversaw the report, said in a statement.

“Our research suggests the number of wealthy people leaving the UK is set to increase in the next two years,” he said.

“Clearly there’s a growing minority that is worried about the outlook; infrastructure, crime, anti-social behavior, tax, red tape and do believe that there are better options abroad,” Boys Smith told Reuters

With Australia’s business skills migration policy being amended on 1 July 2012 by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) we may see some of the high worth Britons looking to make Australia home as business owners or investors?