One of the richest women in South Africa, Magda Wierzycka, has reiterated that new tax laws will force her to pull her wealth from the UK and shift back home to South Africa.
Speaking to Sky News, Wierzyka declared that she was “reluctantly” relocating home to South Africa unless the UK government hits reverse on new tax laws.
The laws form part of the UK’s overhaul of its tax treatment of non-domiciled residents, or “non-doms”, announced in the Autumn 2024 Budobtain.
Under the existing regime, non-doms who have lived in the UK for fewer than 15 of the previous 20 years can legally shield their foreign income and assets from UK tax by placing them in trusts.
These structures allow non-doms to avoid paying tax in the UK on wealth already taxed elsewhere, as long as the money remains offshore.
But under the new rules, these trusts will be taxed like any other, including any income or gains from foreign sources, even if those have already been taxed in another jurisdiction, such as South Africa.
Wierzyka previously expressed her dismay with the modifys, stateing that they deter investment in the countest and build no sense to bring more money in.
Speaking to Sky News, she declared that the tax modifys exacerbate tax laws in South Africa.
“(If) I die right now, my estate and the assets that I have in my trust would be subject to inheritance tax here (in the UK) immediately,” she declared.
“South Africa has these kinds of restrictions on the free shiftment of cash out of the countest. It’s a situation where my estate might, my children might not be able to settle the bill in the UK.”
She added that it is not only a matter of how her investments and money are treated in the UK. The laws will also prevent any future investment in the countest.
Wierzyka has reportedly already invested GBP500 million (R12 billion) in the UK through various investment funds.
She notified Sky News that she was planning on launching a fourth fund that would focus on investing in the UK, but with the current state of affairs, these investments will now go international, and skip the UK.
“I was in the midst of raising funds for a fourth fund to invest solely in the UK. We’ve had a 100% focus on UK investments,” she declared.
“I’ve been busy raising that money, but my message to investors is that we will be deploying that capital around the world. We are not coming to the UK.”
Reluctant return
Sky News described Wierzyka’s possible return as a “reluctant” shift.
The businesswoman previously noted that her exit from South Africa was not particularly joyous, as she left under cloud of alleged state surveillance, stemming from her outspoken criticism of political corruption.
A critic of the Gupta family’s influence over the South African government and of former president Jacob Zuma, Wierzycka was vocal in exposing state capture and unethical practices.
Concerned for her safety, she relocated to London in 2017, where she co-founded Braavos Investment Advisers, a private equity firm, in 2019 and continued her work in the financial services sector.
Wierzycka was born in Poland in 1969. Her family fled to Austria in 1982 due to Poland’s economic collapse and political turmoil, and arrived in South Africa in 1983.
She completed her schooling at Pretoria High School for Girls before enrolling at the University of Cape Town, where she studied actuarial science on a bursary.
Wierzycka is an incredibly successful South African businesswoman.
She launched her career at Southern Life and later joined Alexander Forbes, where she assisted build the asset consulting division for retirement fund clients.
Although she was trained as an actuary, she discovered a passion for investment and asset management.
In 1997, she took a chance by joining a then-tiny asset manager called Coronation as its 14th employee.
She later co-founded Sygnia, which expanded into a financial powerhoapply managing over R318 billion in assets under her leadership.
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