Non-dom taxation
Government has proposed a £30,000 levy on non-domiciled residents - high earners from overseas – with the aim of raising £350m for the Exchequer.
London First’s members are concerned that, in an ill thought through effort to raise a relatively small amount of extra revenue, the Government’s proposals will damage London’s position as an international financial and business centre. These concerns were set out in the London First response to the Treasury’s consultation, ‘Paying A Fairer Share: A Consultation On Residence and Domicile’. Our letter was published in the Independent, Feb 2008.
The Government have made some helpful concessions following this consultation:
- Excluding gains from offshore trust
- Increasing the de minimis exemption from £1000 to £200
- Not applying the charge to all members of a family
Nevertheless concerns remain:
- The legislation is very complex and difficult to draft and there may not be time to get it right in the Finance Bill.
- It is highly unsatisfactory that non-doms are liable to a tax from April 2008 when the legislation applying it is not yet finalised.
- The US authorities may not be able to decide on double taxation until they see the legislation in final form.
The over-riding issue remains that we cannot afford tax initiatives that make London less attractive to business. We shall be briefing members of the Chancellor’s High Level Financial Services Group to raise this issue with him at their next meeting on 12 June.
Our letter published in the Independent, Feb 2008
For more information please contact Lauren Preteceille 020 7665 1471 / 07977 297 811
- It is highly unsatisfactory that non-doms are liable to a tax from April 2008 when the legislation applying it is not yet finalised.
