Healey is chasing away City professionals for very short-term gains

Retaining the individuals who allocate capital and fund business expansion should be considered a national priority, but Healey looks more likely to drive them away, writes Tom Goddard Financial professionals have the resources to leave the UK if they feel unfairly targeted by tax rises, or that the tax they pay is not spent wisely by the government. By increasing taxes such as Capital Gains Tax (CGT) or dividend tax in the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor John Healey could be sacrificing long-term, high-value tax contributions for a short-term fiscal gain. The top 10 per cent of taxpayers in the UK contribute 60 per cent of total income tax receipts. Private equity houses and venture capital firms directly generate approximately £200bn of the UK’s GDP, representing around seven per cent of economic output, and support more than 2.5m jobs, all of whom will pay income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs). London remains one of the world’s premier financial centres. Alon