Create a Britannia Card

Fee model

Reform announced a GBP 250,000 Britannia Card for wealthy migrants, reportedly giving a 10-year exemption from UK tax on foreign income, wealth and gains.

• Card fee is GBP 250,000.
• Exemption reportedly lasts 10 years.
• Tax foregone is highly uncertain.

Core trade-offs

Cardholders gain a favourable tax regime and low-paid workers may receive fee-funded payments. The Exchequer risks losing more from sheltered income than it gains in fees.

• Wealthy migrants gain tax certainty.
• Low-paid workers may receive payments.
• Tax-base leakage could dominate fees.

Illustrative fiscal impact

-GBP 2.0bn to +GBP 35.0bn. Central estimate: +GBP 5.0bn.

• Positive numbers mean public-finance pressure; negative numbers mean Exchequer savings.
• GBP 250k fee is the main scale marker.
• Gross costs and receipt offsets are separated in methodology.
• Behaviour and pass-through widen the range.
• This is not an official costing.

Economic impact by 2027-28

• Jobs: May attract some wealthy residents, but effects on ordinary employment are indirect.
• Wages: Low-paid workers gain only if fee dividends are actually paid.
• Prices: Could raise high-end property demand; broad CPI effect is small.
• GDP / productivity: Likely uncertain; tax arbitrage may dominate real investment gains.

Assessment

The policy has an apparent revenue source, but the core risk is tax foregone. A GBP 250,000 fee can be outweighed by exempting foreign income, gains or wealth from people who would otherwise have paid UK tax. The central economic benefit is uncertain and may be mostly tax arbitrage.

Confidence: Low. The fee is clear from reports, but eligible exemptions, uptake and counterfactual residence are not official or stable.

Main risks

• Revenue leakage: Tax foregone on foreign income and gains may exceed card fees.
• Avoidance design: Existing residents may restructure affairs to qualify or mimic the regime.
• Housing pressure: Attracting wealthy migrants can add pressure to high-end housing markets.

Safeguards

• Publish HMRC modelling before launch.
• Exclude existing residents and connected-party structures.
• Cap exemptions and require UK investment conditions.

Academic evidence

UK government evidence

Sources

• PolicyLens illustrative scenario methodology: Create a Britannia Card Internal - PolicyLens, 2026
• The Elasticity of Taxable Income Academic article - Saez, Slemrod and Giertz, Journal of Economic Literature, 2012
• Direct effects of illustrative tax changes Official tax data - HM Revenue and Customs, 2026
• Our Contract with You Party policy document - Reform UK, 2024
• Britain's Reform party unveils Britannia Card News report - Reuters, 2025
• The GBP 34bn cost of Reform UK's Britannia card proposal Tax analysis - Tax Policy Associates, 2025
• Reform UK manifesto response Think-tank analysis - Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2024
• Taxation and International Migration of Superstars Academic article - Kleven, Landais and Saez, American Economic Review, 2013
• Our Policies Party policy source - Reform UK, 2026

Other Reform UK policies

• Raise income-tax thresholds
• Cut household energy taxes
• Cut fuel duty by 20p
• Cut stamp duty below GBP 750,000
• Raise inheritance-tax threshold to GBP 2m
• Cut corporation tax to 15%
• Raise VAT threshold to GBP 150,000
• Abolish IR35 rules