50 per cent tax woes see French move to UK

Concern about paying 50 per cent tax or more is prompting more French people to consider crossing The Channel.

Some of London's wealthiest neighbourhoods are being sought out by super-rich migrants from France, scared out of their own country by a barrage of tax threats in the run-up to the presidential election.

Knight Frank stated that a 19 per cent rise in online enquiries from France has been recorded in homes located in the priciest London districts during the first three months of 2012. At the same time enquiries about central London property from elsewhere in Europe fell by nine per cent.

Liam Bailey, Knight Frank's global head of residential research, commented: “It is early to see the impact of the proposed wealth taxes in France in terms of actual purchases ... but there is compelling evidence from our web search statistics.”

Nicolas Sarkozy has already increased taxes in France as part of the country's bid to improve its economic standing in the wake of the recession. One of the most notable changes has been the scrapping of a provision that had prevented anyone from paying more than 50 per cent of their income in taxes.