Australia is the world’s top destination for the super-rich because it has no inheritance tax and favors wealthy foreigners, says a global investment immigration consultancy.
United Arab Emirates lost the top spot to Australia this year.
This means Australia is the most popular country for millionaires to migrate to for the first time since 2019, with 5,200 high-net-worth individuals expected to migrate in 2023 amid a skills shortage.
Tony Le Nevez, managing partner of Henley & Partners in Australia, said the absence of inheritance tax was a major factor, along with visa programs designed to attract the very wealthy.
‘What is it about Australia that has consistently ranked as the preferred immigration destination for millionaires?
Australia is the world’s top destination for the super-wealthy because it has no inheritance tax and favors wealthy foreigners, says Henley & Partners, a global investment immigration consultancy (photo courtesy of visitors to Sydney’s Royal Randwick Racecourse)
‘Is it the climate and lifestyle, the world-class education and healthcare, the distance from global crisis hotspots, or the fact that, unlike the UK and US, Australia has no inheritance tax or death duty?
‘The answer is, all of the above, plus some very attractive visa programs aimed at attracting highly skilled professionals.’
Australia abolished the inheritance tax in July 1979, a year after Queensland’s National Party Premier Joe Bjelke-Petersen led the charge to get rid of the death penalty.
Other states copied Queensland and saw Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser scrap the federal inheritance tax.
In the United States, the Internal Revenue Service levies an estate tax when a decedent’s estate is transferred.
In the UK there is a 40 per cent inheritance tax for estate values over £325,000.
Australia also has special visa programs to attract high-net-worth individuals, defined by Henley & Partners as someone with a net worth of $1 million or $A1.478 million.
But to be considered for a category 188 business visa, an ultra-wealthy person must invest at least $2.5 million to become a permanent resident of Australia.
To be eligible, they must provide funding for a project nominated by a state or territory government from July 2021.
Australia was the most popular country for millionaires to migrate to for the first time since 2019, with 5,200 high-net-worth individuals expected to migrate in 2023 during a skills shortage (pictured is a scenic view of Sydney Harbor from the eastern suburbs of Vaucluse)
Henley & Partners expected 5,200 high-net-worth individuals to move to Australia in 2023, ahead of the arrival of 4,500 millionaires from the UAE, 3,200 from Singapore’s elite and 2,100 new cash-ups from the US.
World’s Top Countries for Wealthy Immigrants in 2023
Australia: 5,200 arrivals
United Arab Emirates: 4,500 arrivals
Singapore: 3,200 arrivals
US: 2,100 arrivals
Australia was at the top from 2015 to 2019 before Covid stopped much migration worldwide.
The top destination for the ultra-rich in 2022 was the United Arab Emirates.
Mr Le Nevez said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor government would continue to favor skilled migrants, including high-net-worth individuals investing in businesses.
‘In May 2022, there was a change of government in Australia and almost immediately the incoming government announced an increase in the permanent immigration program and a review of the immigration system,’ he said.
‘Like many developed countries, Australia faces acute skills shortages and an aging population.
‘The review recommended major changes to the way Australia operates its visa program, but importantly it reaffirmed the long-held view that immigration of highly skilled people can help raise the standard of living of Australians by contributing to higher productivity levels in the economy.’
A record 387,000 migrants move to Australia in 2022 and the Treasury expects the annual net number to reach 400,000 by the end of June.
Home Affairs Minister Claire O’Neill said in April that while she was not particularly keen on category 188 visas for the super-rich, she would not scrap them.
To stop exploitation, Home Affairs Minister Claire O’Neill announced in April that the temporary skilled immigration income threshold would rise from $53,900 to $70,000 from July 1.
Ms O’Neill said that while she kept 188 visas for wealthy migrants, she was not particularly keen on them, as she announced the policy change following a review of the migration system.
“Business investment visas are part of this larger category of significant investor visas that were designed to bring capital and entrepreneurs to our country, and there are some significant problems with those on the record,” he said at the National Press Club. April
“We have not said that we will cancel those programs.
‘What we’ve said is that they need a radical restructuring as part of what we’re doing and I think that needs to be folded into the wider conversation about highly skilled people who we see as creating the jobs of the future for Australians and how we manage them now. .’
Unemployment fell to 3.6 percent in May, down from 3.7 percent in April, keeping it near March’s 48-year low of 3.5 percent.
Read Full News Here