A raft of entrepreneurs and financiers are contemplating moving abroad for fear that the planned rise in the top income tax rate to 50 per cent could dent their earnings severely, accountants claim.

The tax rise, set for April, coupled with new rules ­limiting the tax relief on pensions to £30,000 and scrapping personal allowances for UK residents earning more than £100,000, is encouraging more wealthy Britons to consider following the lead of Sir Philip Green, owner of Arcadia Group, and the investor Guy Hands in relocating to Monaco, Guernsey or Switzerland.