Billionaire Bitcoin User Criticizes UK Tax System, Leaves for Swiss Bitcoin City: Report

Billionaire investor Christian Angermayer reportedly left the UK for the Bitcoin hub of Lugano in Switzerland, citing plans to increase taxes on overseas wealth.

German-born Angermaier was considered a ‘non-dom’ while living in the UK, allowing him to avoid UK taxes on his overseas income and earnings for up to 15 years, Bloomberg reported on September 27.

But this was shortened to four years in March 2024 and now Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor party wants to scrap inheritance tax relief for assets held in overseas trusts.

Angermayer said “the planned changes to the non-dom framework are a huge mistake” and claimed it would be “a bigger act of national self-harm than Brexit”.

“Every nondom I know has left or is about to leave.”

Angermayer runs Apeiron Investment Group, a family office and asset management business that primarily invests in the biotechnology, cryptocurrency and psychedelics industries.

Apeiron’s London office will remain open despite Angermayer’s resignation.

Angermayer recently spoke at the Token2049 conference about how Bitcoin (BTC) and psychedelics share a common link by liberating people from government and ego, respectively.

Bitcoin and blockchain investors moved to Lugano this month for tax reasons.

In Lugano, a small town in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, about 250 merchants accept Bitcoin payments, according to BTC Map. The Tether (USDT) stablecoin is also widely used.

The city has become one of the largest Bitcoin circular economies since stablecoin issuer Tether partnered with local authorities in 2022 to make its payment system cryptocurrency-friendly.

Lugano has also hosted a Bitcoin-themed conference “Plan ₿ Forum” every year starting from 2022.

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In addition to Bitcoin, Angermayer also invests in cryptocurrency-focused Samara Asset Group and Bitcoin miner Northern Data AG.

Angermayer is said to have brought Tether to Northern Data before the stablecoin company takes a significant stake in the business in 2023.

Angermayer is also one of the founders of the Enhanced Games, an alternative Olympic competition that promotes performance-enhancing drugs. The venture was backed by Peter Thiel, former CEO of PayPal.

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