LONDON (The Independent) -- Some of the best-known figures in the City of London are planning to abandon Britain as dissent grows over the Government's decision to raise the top rate of income tax to 50 percent.

Over the weekend, it emerged that Guy Hands, chief executive of the private equity company Terra Firma Capital Partners, which owns the giant EMI music group, has relocated to Guernsey.
The hedge fund grandee Crispin Odey is likewise understood to be considering taking his Odey Asset Management group, which controls more than £3bn, to a different tax jurisdiction. Mr. Hands's decision to move to the Channel Islands is understood to be entirely for tax reasons.
“It is for others to jump up and down if they want to, he is simply doing what he feels is right for him,” said a source close to the buyout specialist.
A number of leading City figures have suggested they may leave the UK in direct protest at what many consider is the Government's use of the financial services industry as a political punchbag. Several have sharply criticized the Government's decision to increase the top rate of income tax to 50 percent for those earning more than £150,000 a year. The move was announced in last month's Budget by the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, but critics have accused the Government of endangering the City's pre-eminence as a leading financial centre, and warn that there could be a brain drain of talent away from London.
Terra Firma, which since forming in 2002 has invested in companies ranging from the bookmaker William Hill and UCI cinemas, will keep its headquarters in London.
Mr. Hands is thought to believe that the Labour Party is attacking the City to shore up its core vote and that it is not interested in preserving what he considers to be London's dominant position as a leading financial centre.
Mr. Odey was not available for comment yesterday; it is unclear whether the news of his proposed move is a shot across Labour's bows, or if he is actually planning to move his firm to a competing jurisdiction.
Mr. Odey's business made headlines last year when it was one of the most successful investors in shorting bank shares, before the practice was temporarily banned by the Financial Services Authority. He is married to another leading City financier, Nichola Pease, the chief executive of the fund management group J O Hambro. She is the sister-in-law of Barclays Bank's chief executive John Varley.
Mr. Hands and Mr. Odey join a chorus of businessmen and bankers who have publicly criticized the Government's tax policies. Last month, John Moulton, the chairman of the private equity group Alchemy, said of the increase in the top tax rate: “This is an ill-judged political gesture that will have a bad impact. The rise in the highest personal tax rate will lead to people leaving the country and deter others that had considered coming. I have spoken to several people who are now considering whether or not to stay.”
With the exception of Mr. Hands, no other high-profile City figure has yet left the UK, despite several sounding warnings. Peter Hargreaves, the co-founder of the financial advisory group Hargreaves Landsdown, has been quoted in recent weeks as considering a move to either Monaco or the Isle of Man, while Hugh Osmond, an entrepreneur who floated the Pizza Express restaurant chain, said last week that he was considering moving his financial services group, Pearl Assurance, out of the UK.
The income-tax increase is not the only one of Labour's fiscal policies to have provoked anger in the City. Several companies, including Sir Martin Sorrell's advertising group WPP, have relocated to Ireland in protest at the UK's corporate tax charges. Last month, Sir Martin said he believed the impact of the 50 percent income-tax rate on established high earners would be limited, but those graduating from business schools would feel more inclined to pursue careers overseas.
“The impact will be clear, as younger talent looks to their medium-term careers,” he said. “The advertising industry is dynamic and mobile. The tax, amid other financial factors, will affect younger people more than in many other industries. They are much more likely to look to move to other markets.”-