Ferrari’s famed red badges are suddenly rarer on British roads. The Italian marque has cut back deliveries to the UK after its wealthiest clients began leaving the country, spooked by the government’s scrapping of the non-dom tax status. Chief executive Benedetto Vigna told the Financial Times that “some people are getting out of that country for tax reasons,” adding that Ferrari had to trim supply to keep used prices from collapsing.
The change isn’t small talk. Registrations of new Ferraris in the UK have plunged 27 percent since January, the sharpest drop anywhere in Europe this year. The fall mirrors an exodus of the super-rich to Monaco, Dubai, and Switzerland, where income earned abroad still keeps its halo of anonymity. London estate agents are whispering of empty mansions and shrinking buyer lists at the very top.
Labour’s tax reform, which ended the centuries-old non-dom regime in April, forced wealthy foreign residents to pay UK tax on all global income for the first time. The Treasury called it fairness. Ferrari called it fallout. Many right-hand-drive cars now risk sitting unsold as allocation plans shift to markets where millionaires are kinder to their accountants.
The ripple effect stretches into Britain’s broader luxury economy. High-end property prices are down by as much as 20 percent, while club memberships and butler agencies say trade has slowed. Ferrari’s move may be the most symbolic sign yet that the tax squeeze has turned from politics into economics.
Ferrari insists the brand is fine globally it still commands margins near 30 percent and just lifted its full-year profit forecast thanks to booming US and Middle Eastern demand. But the retreat from Britain is unmistakable. The Prancing Horse doesn’t gallop where the riders have ridden off.