Sir Jim Ratcliffe says immigrants are ‘colonising’ the UK. But who pays more personal tax?

The average immigrant to the UK contributes “much more to the economy” than Sir Jim Ratcliffe, co-owner of Manchester United, experts have said.

The 73-year-old petrochemicals magnate on Wednesday (11 February) accused immigrants of “colonising the UK.”

“You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in,” the INEOS founder told Sky News. “I mean, the UK has been colonised. It’s costing too much money… the UK has been colonised by immigrants, really, hasn’t it?”

Worth some £17 billion, Ratcliffe is an immigrant himself – the British billionaire moved to Monaco in 2020. Ratcliffe was previously one of Britain’s biggest taxpayers before the move. But residents in the tax haven city state do not have to pay any income or property taxes, means he pays £0 in personal income tax in the UK.

It has been widely reported that the move could lead to £4 billion in tax savings for Ratcliffe, one of Britain’s richest men.

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According to government PAYE figures, skilled worker migrants pay a median of around £9,100 a year in income tax, while health and care workers pay a median of roughly £3,500. These figures exclude national insurance, VAT, council tax and other levies, meaning total tax contributions are higher

According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, new migrants are more likely to be prime working age, therefore, they proportionally have a slightly higher participation rate in the workforce than the native population.

The OBR said that migrants’ per capita contribution to the UK is around £19,500 per year, which is “close to the [amount paid by the] average UK adult”. Additionally, application fees associated with immigration visa category and the immigration health surcharge generate a further £4.1 billion per year for the economy.

“Immigrants are contributing much more to the economy than Jim Ratcliffe,” said Ala Sirriyeh is a senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Lancaster.

“And so, I would just say: get your house in order before you start commenting on other people’s contributions.”

INEOS, the company Ratcliffe founded, does pay tax in the UK. The company does not publish a detailed annual breakdown of its UK corporate tax payments, but its total tax payments across multiple countries amounted to hundreds of millions of euros in 2025.

The company also claims state support from the government recent years, including a £50 million package to secure its Grangemouth chemical plant just before Christmas. 

Ratcliffe has long lobbied the UK government to help pay for the new Manchester United stadium, saying that there is a “very good case” for public funds to be used in the area’s regeneration.

His relationship with the government likely soured after today’s comments – prime minister Keir Starmer called on Ratcliffe to apologise, along with a suite of campaigners. The billionaire was unrepentant.

“Sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe and caused concern” he said. “[But] it is important to raise the issue of controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth”.

The problem with the INEOS boss’ statement was not only his “choice of language.” The figures he cited to substantiate his claims were not correct.

During his interview with Sky News, Ratcliffe said: “The population of the UK was 58 million in 2020. Now it’s 70 million. That’s 12 million people.”

According to the Office for National Statistics’ the population in 2020 was 66.7 million. In 2025 it was 69.4 million – an increase of 2.7 million. The UK population has not been 58 million people since 1995.

It is true that immigration shot up immediately after Covid – net migration peaked at 944,000 for the period between April 2022 and March 2023. But it has since dropped down to around 204,000 for the year ending June 2025.

There are seldom consequences for misrepresenting immigration figures, said Michael Bankole, a lecturer in politics researching on race, racism and representation at Royal Holloway, University of London. 

“Politicians do this all time too – they misrepresent figures or kind of quote figures that aren’t actually accurate. People will lie about facts to suit their agenda.”

Nigel Farage has publicly supported Ratcliffe’s comments. Big Issue has previously debunked some of his claims about immigration, too.

“I think, over the last four or five years post Brexit, our discourse on immigration has worsened, it’s become much more aggressive,” Bankole said.

“The fact that Jim Ratcliffe feels comfortable enough to speak about immigration in those terms, to me, suggests that we have really gone to quite a bad place, quite a corrosive place.

“The worrying part isn’t just the language, it’s that influential elites are now comfortable mainstreaming rhetoric that once sat on the margins.”

This said, his language was indeed inappropriate, said Sirriyeh .

“Colonialism was actually a violent process of dispossession where countries like Britain and France and other European powers stole other people’s lands and resources exerted control and power over people,” she said.

“So, to say that immigrants are colonising is complete misrepresents what’s going on today. Immigrants in Britain today don’t have that power, and don’t want to exert that power – they are ordinary people moving to other countries for work, for families, to study. So, it’s complete misrepresentation.”

Manchester United have yet to release a statement on the comments – but they did post on X alluding to the debacle.

“Manchester United prides itself on being an inclusive and welcoming club. We will continue to represent our people, our city and our fans with purpose and pride.”

The team’s Muslim supporters club expressed “deep concern” over the comments.

“Public discourse shapes public behaviour,” the group said in a statement. “When influential figures adopt language that mirrors extremist talking points, it risks legitimising prejudice and deepening division.”

Immigrants contribute significantly to British society and economy. Non-UK nationals make up approximately 21% of NHS staff. Closer to home for Jim Ratcliffe perhaps – Manchester United’s top five top scorers this season are immigrants.

“I think it is hypocritical of a co-owner football club which employs so many foreign-born players to speak out so strongly against immigration,” Bankole said, “given that the very club he owns benefits so hugely from the talents of foreign-born footballers.”

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