[agent008t]

First of all, high income does not mean 'rich'. 45% tax bracket started at £150'000 income - that is not 'rich' in London.

Secondly, all else being equal, lower taxes certainly would attract talent and business to the UK and overall make people better off. As a simple example, let us consider an extreme case where the UK has a 20% flat tax while maintaining macro/political stability, and that rate is expected to persist. For starters, there will be a huge move in tech from SF and NY to the UK. It will become a very desirable destination for top talent; startups and unicorns will follow. With clever tax incentives, it would not be just London either, but cities all around the country. That influx of talent and capital would benefit the middle class and the poor too. The one bottleneck, as is usually the case, would be housing - if that is also resolved (say, making it really easy to build in/near currently depressing-looking cities), there could be a real boom to the UK economy.

As things are going now, this is unlikely to play out in the UK, unfortunately.

[donpott]

Making GBP 150,000 before tax in the year 2019-2020 would put a person in the 98th percentile of salaries in the UK. If that's not rich, I don't know what is, in London or anywhere.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/percentile-points-f...

[agent008t]

Rich refers to wealth, not income. Having a high income does not mean that one is rich, and it will take a very long time to get rich on 150'000 in London - assuming you live modestly and are able to sustain that level of income for a long time.

[donpott]

Thanks for the clarification, now I understand your point.