Osborne’s tax exiles

Earlier this year, officials in the Indian driving licence department received an extraordinary application. It was from Lakshmi Mittal, the richest man in Britain, who wanted to know — given the circumstances — if it would possible for him to be posted the documentation rather than sit a driving test. They refused, and the steel magnate duly turned up for his fingerprints a few days later. The Indian press were delighted, and not just to see a billionaire humbled. A driving licence application looked very much like the first step back to residency. India’s richest exile might just be the latest to flee London.

If he did, it would be a symptom of what could be a much wider problem. For two decades, Britain has had a low-ish top rate of tax — 40 per cent — which has attracted entrepreneurs the world over. But then the crash came, and the mood changed — Britain now has the fourth highest top rate of income tax on the planet.