More on KentOnline
The multi-millionaire owner of a Kent castle has announced she is set to leave the country - because she doesn't want to pay more tax.
Businesswoman Dr Ann Kaplan Mulholland has decided to leave Lympne Castle, near Hythe, with her husband, plastic surgeon Stephen Mulholland, ahead of the Labour government’s upcoming changes to non-dom rules.
However, they are going to keep hold of the Grade I-listed building, which they bought in 2023 for £5.5 million.
Currently, the couple avoid paying UK tax on money they make overseas - but that is set to end in April next year.
The move has failed to impress Dr Kaplan Mulholland, who is set to head to Milan. There, wealthy internationals pay a flat tax rate of £166,000 yearly, regardless of their overseas earnings.
Speaking to The Telegraph, the 64-year-old blamed Chancellor Rachel Reeves for her decision to move.
“I seriously don’t want to leave, but we have no choice because of ‘Reckless’ Reeves,” Dr Kaplan Mulholland said.
“‘Reckless’ needs to listen to people who are saying ‘no’, not just everyone who’s saying ‘yes’ and patting her on the back. This is a serious thing as the economy is really struggling.”
“I’d much rather stay in England, but it would cost an astronomical amount to do that.”
The star of Canadian reality TV show Real Housewives of Toronto added: “Wealthy individuals are preparing to walk down the runways of Italy, Switzerland and Dubai, where government concierges will greet them with open arms and wallets.”
The couple will look to return to England for the maximum number of days they can.
The announcement comes despite the Chancellor’s plans to water down the non-dom tax raid by granting new arrivals a four-year reprieve in paying domestic taxes on foreign wealth.
“Having just four years will not encourage enterprise. It will attract zero investors,” Dr Kaplan Mulholland added.
“It’s a complete walk-around, it’s like changing the fork when the cake tastes bad.”
Last week, Reeves told the BBC that “if you make Britain your home, you should pay your taxes”.
The government hopes the crackdown - with foreign earnings brought into the inheritance tax system - will raise £5.2 billion for the public purse by 2028-29.
Previously, Ms Mulholland planned to write to the King to ask him to grant independence to her estate, creating a non-dom kingdom in Lympne, but decided against it after realising it would not be legal.
Last year, the castle’s wedding business was set to turnover £1 million.
A bar and restaurant are open to the public, a number of cottages within the ground are available to rent, and The Naughty Dog bistro opened in August.
There are also plans in the pipeline to open 20 hotel rooms on the second floor of the castle and construct greenhouses to grow vegetables.
Filming has also been ongoing at the site, but an apology had to be issued to residents after a “miscommunication of the castle’s boundaries” during the shooting of a new comedy last year.