Sir Richard Branson Defends His Move To The Caribbean

What’s better than getting rich, having good health and years left to enjoy it, and moving to the Caribbean! There’s little that can be compared to that… and they’re few places that can compare either. But what happens if you’ve amassed a reaallly reaaaally large amount of wealth, and what happens if the place you’re moving from is Britain? And lastly, what if you’re Sir Richard Branson?

Necker Island – Sir Richard Branson’s Getaway

Well, if you’ve been following the latest set of news reports, Sir Richard has had to come out and defend his decision to move to the Caribbean. His blog post on his virgin website, explained in detail how and why they made that decision a few years ago.

Seven years ago we decided to move permanently to Necker as we feel it gives me and my wife Joan the best chance to live another productive few decades. We can also look after our health (Joan is approaching 70 and I’m not far behind). I still work day and night, now focusing on not-for-profit ventures with Virgin Unite, but on Necker I can also look after my health.

Necker, the Island that he has purchased and now resides is where he spends most of his time. He describes it as “the most beautiful place in the world, because it is our home where we can live life to the full.” He writes that he purchased Necker Island as an uninhabited island on the edges of the British Virgin Islands when he was 29 years old, 34 years ago.

What’s The Big Deal?

So what’s the big deal? Hasn’t he spent a great deal of his life working hard to amass wealth which he’d now like to enjoy wherever he chooses? Yes he has, and I’m sure he can go where he pleases, but not before speculation runs high as to why he’s leaving, and who will be impacted …. financially. Yes, that’s right, somebody always gets affected, and it’s always about the money.

Suddenly questions of taxes emerge, and concerns about to him not wanting to pay his fair share in Britain; however Sir Richard has sought to reassure everyone that he is still paying massive amounts of taxes in Britain. He writes;

I spent 40 years working day and night in Great Britain building companies and creating competition and choice for consumers across a whole range of industries. The companies we created from scratch have created tens of thousands of jobs and paid hundreds of millions in tax (and will continue to do so).

Taxes, Taxes, Taxes!

Sir Richard continues to pay a considerable amount of taxes. He has been paying taxes forever, and significant amounts too, but that still has not appeased a whirlwind of controversy that has surrounded the move. According to The Guardian

Branson earns $11m a year, according to his spokesman, of which around $10m is from speeches, and donates much of his income to the Virgin Unite charity, which supports entrepreneurs around the world. His spokesman said the 63-year-old lives off money earned in the past and does not take a dividend from Virgin Group Holdings, which owns his stakes in the Virgin operating companies and is itself registered in the British Virgin Islands.

As a non-resident, Branson is required to pay tax on UK income but not on any personal earnings outside of Britain. His companies continue to pay corporation tax, with Virgin Rail and Virgin Money making the biggest contributions.

Welcome to the Caribbean, Sir Richard! Please bring some more of your friends with you.

[Photo by Jack Brockway]