The locations vying to attract wealthy individuals

As we reported in The Wealth Report 2021 nearly a quarter of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) are seeking a second residency or citizenship. There was a question mark over whether countries would seek to cover the huge costs of the pandemic by taxing the wealthy, or by bringing in investment – through digital nomad options, luring entrepreneurs from high growth industries or changing their residency programmes. It is clear some countries are sitting in one camp more than the other, whereas some may be seeking to do both.

While the US, Canada and Argentina are among those in the first camp, having or proposing tax changes that target wealthier individuals specifically, Hong Kong, Dubai, Australia and St Kitts and Nevis are among those in the latter. Surprisingly, New Zealand may sit in both.

Last year Kate Everett-Allen wrote about Barbados being the first to tempt Digital Nomads, we explore many others in our Next Neighbourhoods article. Dubai has added itself to the list offering a one-year virtual working programme. Hong Kong has introduced a zero-tax regime for carried interest, bolstering the appeal for private equity funds and executives.

The Australian Significant Investor programme is one we spoke about in The Wealth Report. Australia is seeking to bring in more entrepreneurs and talent for specific growth industries. At the end of January 2021, the government announced that professionals from sectors previously not included in the country’s Global Talent Independent Program (GTI), such as AgTech, circular economy, DigiTech and FinTech, would now gain access to it.

The St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship-by-Investment Program’s required contribution to the nation’s Sustainable Growth Fund (SGF) fell by $US45,000 to US$150,000 to support the country’s economy during the current pandemic. Other programmes in the region have previously introduced similar reductions to aid recovery from natural disasters.

New Zealand has made changes to Capital Gains Tax for property investors as well as interest deductibility. Yet, the government's economic development minister, Stuart Nash, has said that new border exceptions would allow more than 200 wealthy international investors to come to New Zealand over the next 12 months.

Travel restrictions remain in place across many countries and territories, but as the world opens up we could see more locations looking to bolster investment and their economies by attracting entrepreneurs and UHNWIs.

Photo by Roman Logov on Unsplash