These boots are made for walking
Boots are the enemy of high taxes, especially when worn by young people aged 18-35 and by millionaires. The prospect of mobile talent leaving the UK places some constraint on how high taxes can be raised, with the effect differing by group. Economists usually call this tax-base elasticity or migration elasticity: if people who contribute a great deal in taxation can leave easily, governments must consider that when designing policy.
The overall principle is that countries with highly educated, globally mobile workforces (e.g., the UK, Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland) do face limits on raising certain types of taxes, especially those affecting present or future high earners. They affect internationally mobile workers in finance and tech, entrepreneurs and founders, and investors and business owners.
These constraints are not absolute, however, because many high-tax countries can retain or attract talent through a high quality of life, high quality education, and favourable tax treatments for certain workers or sectors.
In practice, tax policy is a key factor, but there are others. UK young people, 18-35, also cite lack of housing affordability, poor career opportunities, and the cost of living. If taxes rise while wages stagnate and housing remains unaffordable, combined ‘frustration factors’ can increase emigration.
UK youth mobility is already high post-Brexit toward Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the EU (via ancestry or special visas). Surveys of UK graduates consistently show housing costs and career opportunities are up there with tax concerns.
For millionaires and very high earners the dynamic is quite different. They are much more sensitive to tax changes. Economic studies in Europe and the US show that high earners are meaningfully responsive to top tax rates, meaning that migration elasticity is higher. Even a small percentage leaving can reduce revenue disproportionately, because the top 1% accounts for a large share of income-tax receipts.
London is one of the world’s key hubs for high-earning finance, tech, and professional services. But these sectors are globally mobile. The UK already has a high top marginal rate (45% + National Insurance) and a large share of tax revenue from the top 1%.
There are many individuals whose boots could easily take them to low-tax hubs such as Dubai, Switzerland and Singapore. So raising the top rates too sharply risks losing part of a very concentrated tax base. The deterrent effect for top earners is real and strong. High-net-worth individuals are substantially more mobile and more likely to relocate for tax reasons.
The figures for young people and high earners emigrating show that the disincentives to remain in a high tax, high cost UK are already too high and too numerous. Which is why they are putting their boots on.
Madsen Pirie