Chancellor Rachel Reeves has changed her plans to abolish non-dom status following a revelation over the number of millionaires quitting Britain.

Reeves told the World Economic Forum in Davos that there would now be more generous help for non-doms repatriating their funds to the UK. Ministers will table an amendment to the Finance Bill to adjust the proposed changes from the Budget, in which Reeves pledged to abolish the non-dom regime.

Non-dom status enables people who live in the UK to avoid paying UK tax on money made abroad because their permanent home for tax purposes is outside the country. Labour’s pledge to scrap this status has prompted many of the country’s millionaires to vote with their feet. 

Analytics firm New World Wealth and investment migration advisers Henley & Partners have issued figures showing that over 10,000 millionaires left the UK in 2024, a 157% increase on 2023.

Analysts cited factors including additional taxes affecting non-doms and other wealthy individuals as well as the growing dominance of the US and Asia in the tech sector and the dwindling importance of the London Stock Exchange.

Non-does are believed to exercise significant demand for high-end property, in both the lettings and sales market, within London.

Reeves told an event hosted by the Wall Street Journal: “We have been listening to the concerns that have been raised by the non-dom community.”

The size of the change to the Temporary Repatriation Facility, a three-year scheme to help ex non-doms bring their assets to the UK at a discounted tax rate, was described as a “tweak” that would not be expected to significantly change the money raised from the overall policy.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said the new system “addresses unfairness in our tax system, attracts the best talent and investment to the UK and ensures that everyone who is a long-term resident of the UK pays their tax here”.

Under the old scheme, non doms didn’t pay tax on their non-UK income for up to 15 years under dating back over 200 years. Around 74,000 non doms contributed £8.9 billion in UK taxes in 2022/23.

The Treasury says the new policy is forecast to raise £33.8 billion over the next five years.

Leslie MacLeod-Miller, chief executive of Foreign Investors For Britain (FIFB), has told Knight Frank: “The government is waking up. They need to give a clear signal that Britain supports growth and investment before it is too late. This is now the final call, and the flight is about to leave taking investments – and tax revenue, spending into the economy, job creation and philanthropy – with them.”

FIFB claims the UK’s new residence-based scheme from April introduces a four-year cap, which means the scheme is less attractive than other countries including Italy, where foreign investors pay an annual flat tax for a maximum of 15 years.