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The main issue with offshore income is finding it, that is to say its a tax largely of honesty. HMRC dont have the resources to tackle undeclared incomes in the UK.
It's archaic
I honestly cannot see why someone whose father was born abroad should gain a tax advantage over someone whose father was born in the UK.
The tax rules, whatever they may be, should apply to everyone. If they come to the UK purely because it's a tax haven, then why didn't they go to one of those countries that give even greater tax savings? Could it be because they prefer the UK, even though they could make greater tax savings elsewhere?
If they are not loyal to the UK or care about it's citizens, and are only interested in themselves (ie. are more interested in how little they need to contribute to their chosen country), then why should we give them tax breaks?
So reform it
I honestly cannot see why someone whose father was born abroad should gain a tax advantage over someone whose father was born in the UK.
The tax rules, whatever they may be, should apply to everyone. If they come to the UK purely because it's a tax haven, then why didn't they go to one of those countries that give even greater tax savings? Could it be because they prefer the UK, even though they could make greater tax savings elsewhere?
If they are not loyal to the UK or care about it's citizens, and are only interested in themselves (ie. are more interested in how little they need to contribute to their chosen country), then why should we give them tax breaks?
I don't deal with non doms anymore, so my knowledge is a bit rusty. I don't see how they really gain an advantage (barring some abuse of the system). Someone comes to the UK, pays tax on UK income and RBC on overseas income. They pay tax on the overseas income in other countries probably/possibly. Someone comes to the UK, pays tax on UK income - how is this a tax break?
If they are abusing the system, as Duncan Bannatyne describes, then reform it.
People do make decisions based on tax, for example Usain Bolt won't compete in the UK (generally) due to the adverse system of taxing international athletes.
So many headlines for so few!
Take a step back – who are we talking about?
Even according to the Treasury, only around 5,000 individuals pay the RBC each year. Of those, only 3,000 have paid the RBC in every year for which it has applied. So should such headlines be directed at a number less than the crowd attendance at Alfeton Town’s last football conference league match?
Agreed there are many more not yet a 'long-term' resident, but perhaps a bit of perspective is needed!
I guess
(and only guess) that the majority of the 3,000 plus individuals who 'choose' to only pay tax on their uk income (which I can imagine in some instances will be negligible) live in and around London - enjoying the security/safety and lifestyle under the cover of the UK government whilst not fully contributing to its existence. (BTW I would suggest we are talking about in the main the super rich who can most afford but want to contribute the least)
Combine it with the Mansion Tax
Its going to be very difficult to police this as, as has been mentioned above, its a tax on honesty.
My solution is this:
Raise the mansion tax threshold to properties over a higher threshold, say £5million. Charge a punitive Mansion tax on these properties. This tax can then be offset against any UK income tax paid by the owner of the property whether by an individual, offshore trust or company. This way those paying tax in the UK aren't punished and those who park their money in properties in London due to its perceived benefits pay for the service of a sound, stable economy and democracy that respects your rights to property etc. If you don't pay income tax you pay mansion tax.
Somebody with a calculator would need to do the sums........
While idiots rule the HMRC
I don't see what difference this political ploy makes to anyone or anything. While you have idiots like Hartnett telling Vodafone that they need only pay £1BN of a £6.5BN Corporation Tax bill, whether or not you have non doms makes very little difference.
This is a divide and rule tactic and it won't work. It's like telling Little Johnny not to ride his bicycle on the pavement when there are murders in the next street. Clearly this country lacks a sense of proportion and common sense. Let's be quite blunt here; the whole of the UK tax system is one big anachronism, as I am sure Ed Milipede will tell you.
Simplify
How about nobody paying tax on the first £12,000 followed by a flat rate of tax with no exemptions or special cases for anyone resident in the UK?
Surely the aim should be to maximise the tax take
This seems all very like the 50/55% tax rate discussion. It ‘looks good’ for a politician to be ‘defending the poor’ by ‘making the rich pay their fair share’. That’s wonderful, just so long as the rich are here to pay any tax at all. I have no idea what the net effect of removal of non-dom status would do for total tax take, but what worries me so much about these discussions – like the 50-55% tax rate – is that are based around what sounds good and not what maximises the tax take, because if they result in driving mobile people to simply relocate outside the UK and so pay no UK tax at all, it simply leaves more for the rest of us to cover.
I really do wish the politicians would stop ‘trying to sound good’ and actually do the research to show that what they’re proposing will have an overall net benefit for us all. Sadly, I suspect this is asking too much :-(
Ignorance is Bliss
I'm still surprised when people can come out with comments like this:
'enjoying the security/safety and lifestyle under the cover of the UK government whilst not fully contributing to its existence'
Blinded by the same rhetoric that says Labour isn't responsible for the overspending, weren't in charge of banking regulation when the banking crisis happened, etc etc ?
The top 1% of earners contribute a third of income tax, but still we hear calls for them to pay 'their fair share'.
Non-doms already contribute more than most- it's not just the annual charge (which is money in the hand rather than speculation as to how much additional tax might be due on income that has nothing to do with the UK), but also the other ways in which they contribute, be it donations to charities, businesses they fund, companies they run, people they employ.
In a competitive world (that includes tax regimes) we need every advantage we can get to attract inwards investment, and non-dom is a string in our bow. Needs reforming, but to scrap it is stupidity based on the usual politics of envy and attempts to swing Labour voters back to the fold.
I'm with Ian
I cannot see the point in hounding NonDoms until they're forced to leave.
They contribute a huge amount to the UK. They pay direct as well as indirect taxes. They probably don't use the NHS or other resources. They employ Brits, they start/finance businesses. They drive the London property market.
Property
They drive the London property market.
You say that as if it's a good thing. Do you seriously believe that the state of the London property market, with prices driven so high it is almost impossible for ordinary people to buy a home, is something to celebrate?
Sloppy reporting
The failure to properly understand the domicile rules for income tax (and don't forget IHT) demonstrated by the press and politicians is breathtaking although not surprising.
The number of current UK residents who are or possibly could be non domiciled must run into the millions. It might be relevant to all immigrant persons and their children. Domicile is either your domicile of origin - generally your father's domicile at the time you were born (or your mother if the father's identity is not known) - or a subsequently acquired domicile of choice. For IHT purposes, UK domicile is deemed to apply if the individual was UK resident for 17 of the last 20 years.
Domicile can change more than once in a lifetime, not always as the result of a particular decision. How many of the present influx of EU nationals will necessarily remain in the UK for the rest of their lives. Indeed, now that there is freedom of movement in the EU, how many can be assumed to have acquired UK domicile of choice?
The talk of 120,000 non-doms is frankly nonsense. However, for the vast majority of UK resident non-doms, there is no tax consequence to be considered because there is no overseas income. For those paying the fixed £90,000 tax charge, their overseas income would be expected to exceed £200,000. I am sure that there cannot be too many individuals in that category.
It can be a tricky area when someone who came to the UK and stayed for their entire working life decides to retire to somewhere warm or their country of origin.
Just have a look at the flowcharts in RDR1 and the guidance in RDRM20000.
As far as collecting tax is concerned, the picture is not easily ascertained. When you consider foreign tax suffered and double tax treaty conditions, the actual amount of additional UK tax which would be raised is much less than would first appear to be collectible.
Rather than consulting for other ways to reform the existing rules, time would be better spent on a complete and radical redesign of the entire UK tax system. Nowhere else has so much over complex and inexplicable legislation which is also tinkered with at every opportunity.
Ian, i think that is just a statement of
fact...I presume they don't stay in there domiciled country for a number of reasons....(perhaps because of tax...but more likely because it doesn't offer the same standard of living one with money could attain in and around London). Presumably you are blinded by the Tory suggestion that lowering the rate of tax will increase the tax take...(I am only talking about the higher rates of course....)
I'm not blinded, it's simple maths
@justsotax, I’m not blinded by anything and made the point I have no idea on the net effect of this policy statement. My point though was that before going making statements that could lead to a reduction on tax take, politicians should work out whether the idea is *actually* to everyone’s benefit or simply to for their own to make then sound good.
It is a very VERY simply concept: You want to maximise the tax take so as to spread the costs for government. If you drive people away due to high taxes, then you reduce tax take and you leave a greater burden for those that remain. Most at the bottom of the tax scale have little option to move to gain tax benefit…we just sit here and pay what we’re asked to pay. But the super-rich, that this kind of policy is aimed, often *do* have the option to be mobile and so *if* we drive them away we made things *worse* for everyone left behind.
This isn’t Tory anything, it’s just simple maths. The big and usually unknown question is whether any of this *will* bring a net benefit or not…but that seems to matter not, ‘sounding good’, however, does.
Tax Yield
fact...I presume they don't stay in there domiciled country for a number of reasons....(perhaps because of tax...but more likely because it doesn't offer the same standard of living one with money could attain in and around London). Presumably you are blinded by the Tory suggestion that lowering the rate of tax will increase the tax take...(I am only talking about the higher rates of course....)
I seem to recall the 40% rate bringing in more under Thatcher than when the rate was 60%- in fact a study was done at the time that detemined the ideal rate for yield was 40%, anything lower or higher brings in less tax.
Labour only brought in the 50% rate in the dying days of a 13 year stint, so I can only assume you've fallen for the Labour rhetoric of a 'tax cut for the rich' and the usual soundbite politics of envy they employ to blind people into voting for them once again?
It also appears that the tax take increased when the rate was dropped from 50% to 45%.
Yes, it appears I'm blinded by such facts. I'm also apparently blinded by the fact Labour overspent, were in charge last time, and left the country in such a mess it's taken 5 years to get it even slightly back on course and have left us with debts my gandchildren will be paying off.
Law of Diminishing Returns:
I seem to recall the 40% rate bringing in more under Thatcher than when the rate was 60%- in fact a study was done at the time that detemined the ideal rate for yield was 40%, anything lower or higher brings in less tax.
Labour only brought in the 50% rate in the dying days of a 13 year stint, so I can only assume you've fallen for the Labour rhetoric of a 'tax cut for the rich' and the usual soundbite politics of envy they employ to blind people into voting for them once again?
It also appears that the tax take increased when the rate was dropped from 50% to 45%.
Yes, it appears I'm blinded by such facts. I'm also apparently blinded by the fact Labour overspent, were in charge last time, and left the country in such a mess it's taken 5 years to get it even slightly back on course and have left us with debts my grandchildren will be paying off.
The concept here, Ian is the Law of Diminishing Returns, examined and postulated by Prof Arthur Laffer: and thereafter known as Laffer's Curve.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Laffer
I had the pleasure of working for an afternoon, with his then boss, Russell B Clarke (Wainwrights of Boston), in my then London office in 1979.
The core precept is that above a certain delicate threshold of tax, returns decrease and the graph accelerates the higher the tax rate becomes.
Similar to a Market Price Sensitivity graph: plotted price against sales volume. As acquisition price increases, volume decreases above the Price Sensitivity point.
This is the fundamental reality of holistic taxation idiot politicians cannot grasp!
They see tax only myopically, as a way to fund their increasing profligacy.
Merry Little England
Note: I am not an accountant, I am a business owner, I am a member to keep a breast of tax matters.
I am Irish and believe it or not, all Uk based Irish born nationals here are non-dom, (assuming their father was born and raised of an Irish father in Ireland) However, the vast majority of the UK population doesn't regard us as immigrants let alone bestow the mantle of being 'non doms' upon us. Even Sir Bob the saver of the planet and a fellow Dublin man is a non dom. The difference is I am not wealthy or world wide prosperous enough to use the status to any tax advantage and my entire income is made in the UK where I pay my taxes.
But......
I'm one of those people that Milibrand wants to put the higher rate tax up for, levy a mansion tax on and now scare all of my clients away. One of these very people has kept my business running now for about 3 years. He has kept hundreds of other people employed. This has raised millions in taxes and NI. That's before we count the VAT that all of these businesses has collected, processed and paid over to HMRC. It runs to 100s of millions.
Step forward all of the lower rate tax payers wherever you are who will ever ever contribute a fraction of that to this great country.
Millibrand.....Stop bashing people because they are successful. They are successful because they have applied the gifts nature gave them to the conditions they find themselves in a more effective way than others. Stop using the word 'fair' I'll tell you what's not fair, I wake up at 5am every morning with a thirst to go and find another opportunity, I work until at least 8 or 9pm and my mind is buzzing all day....that's what's not fair, he should try being an entrepreneur... it's a form of living hell but I can't help it. Maybe if through 'fairness' I could wake at 8am, go to work until 5pm, switch off go home and watch him telling me that the wealth creators have it all there own way I would have a different opinion, but I will never know.
Collectively these people are the wealth creators. I agree with the redistribution of wealth and the maintenance of the health service for the good of all but I think it's time access to certain services be means tested. Where possible I pay for as much as I can, I don't claim child benefit and I have never ever claimed unemployment benefit. This move however is a blunt instrument.
Scrapping non dom is populist nonsense because most people haven't got a sophisticated enough understanding of the tax system or for that matter economics to understand what that statement actually means.
Oh and before I go here's a little tax or as the Irish call it a 'levy' that might be worth him considering. The levy on credit cards, everyone in Ireland pays thirty euro a year on each card they hold. Come on Milli.....think outside the box!!
Yours, the proudest plastic Paddy non....'non dom' on the block.
xx
non-dom and non-resident
It would be quite fair to require all UK residents to pay tax, but then it would equally be totally fair to excuse all UK non-residents from paying tax. It's because of the government's greed in trying to hang onto the taxation of British citizens living abroad that we got into this silly distinction between non domiciled not resident and not ordinarily resident in the first place. Keep it simple - live here - pay tax here. Don't live here - don't pay tax here.
Ashcroft et al
A large part of the furore was caused by this politician's status. Perhaps it would be reasonable for non-doms (of choice and origin but especially the former) to be be prohibited from making political donations and both voting in and standing for elections? "No representation without taxation"?
Labour and other election hopefuls
Oh boy. The tangled web we wieve when politicians seek to deceive. Why oh why don't they get down to the really vital job of simplification of the entire tax system?
Distinguish Between.......
........honest intent to reform and political posturing on the stump!
As is always the way, the Devil is in the DETAIL!
Millipede and his duplicitous cronies, are simply trying to seduce more people of real Left Wing inclination, since BLiar and his pretence of " New" labour, gained a large swathe of votes on serial broken promises and outright lies: who then turned away from Labour.
What's new? He's a politician.
Led by their tax avoidance cheerleader, the millionaires Hodge (Whose family fortune was inherited from an ultimate tax dodging father!), some politicians are simply trying to sooth a majority of Schedule E taxpayers, by trying to brainwash them into believing the core reason they pay far too many high taxes , is only and purely due to the dastardly tax avoiders, Non-Doms and multinational corporations.
Which, of course is sheer unadulterated nonsense!
The reason our taxes are far too high is only due to Government's own profligacy, shambling incompetence and massive waste.
Rather, it is factual!
I'm no fan of Miliband's (or Cameron come to that), but your language, and name calling, is very inflammatory, I can understand why threads on politics become quite heated when comments such as yours are made! Would you be happy for others to call DC a liar?
"Inflammatory", Shirley?
I fear not, Shirley. Simply pragmatic.
Would you be happy for others to call DC a liar?
Happy? Delighted, more like!
Personally, Shirley, I deal only in fact. Facts of tax law; facts of banking and finance; facts of commercial and contract law.
Let me provide a small example: do you remember one Norman Lamont? And his famous saying that he had been "Economical with the actuality"?
Which means, in simple plain English; didn't tell the truth!
Anyway, this thread isn't about politics: it is about a desperate politician, trying to become the next PM. And using every weapon at his disposal to seduce the great voting and myopic British public to foolishly elect his party.
Ok, you made it clear
It is possible to voice your opinion in a non inflammatory way, but I guess that doesn't appeal to you.
Shirley, who is getting personal here. I think Michael makes a fair point. It would be better to vent your ire at the impending election.
Non-dom's
I have had experience of a number of tax jurisdictions around the world.
The invariable rule is that tax-residents are taxed on their world-wide income, subject to double taxation relief, while non tax-residents are taxed only on income received from within the jurisdiction.
Hammer - Nail - Head - Bang!
I have had experience of a number of tax jurisdictions around the world.
The invariable rule is that tax-residents are taxed on their world-wide income, subject to double taxation relief, while non tax-residents are taxed only on income received from within the jurisdiction.
Absolutely correct, Paddy.
This is the nub: at present, the UK is a signatory of circa 100 Dual Taxation Treaties.
How might these be unwound, without inviting hostile reciprocal action?
If an entity (Person or Corporation: which is invariably ignored, or glossed over by politicians on the stump, scattering sound bites to woo electors), is fiscally based in one jurisdiction, it does not mean all their wealth is fiscally based in the same jurisdiction: it might well be based (and usually is) in numerous jurisdictions and held in trusts, companies and even (often!) companies owned by way of bearer shares.
The way ex-pats normally cause themselves problems is to continue to own, personally, real property in e.g. UK, and abuse the temporary visit rules.
For example, see Gaines-Cooper.
Case Determination (Supreme Court: here): http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2011/47.html
ISIS members – non-dom …
Personally don’t have an issue with non-dom provided it is not abused (HSBC latest con)
Although, making unquantified knee-jerk election promises without quantifying what is involved as to whether the country would be better off with/without is never a good approach to anything – after all we could be shooting ourselves in the foot!
(and don't forget that it is not all about money but also opportunity & wealth in other ways that is being introduced into the UK)
Frankly I would fare more p*** off with those with business in the UK who syphon off all the profits off-shore (fake licence fees etc.), having collected revenue from the UK payer - especially as this type of exercise deprives the revenue of far more tax than a few very wealthy foreign nationals
Nevertheless, it must be heartening to know that a great many members of ISIS can be non-dom – after all the status can be acquired from ones father (or one’s own) place of birth. Which brings us a full circle to unfettered immigration
When they return to the UK they will not be taxable on the proceeds of any looted artefacts, which presumambly would be deemed Wordwide income provided it was left of shore!
Although we have yet to hear that anyone returning intends to make their ultimate permanent abode in Iraq/Syria (aka Stuart Gulliver - HSBC)
Relax
For some reason the UK is the centre for world business and trade, I dont think changes to the dom rules will make any difference whatsoever.
But it is time to make it harder for tax dodgers.
80% of the FT are owned overseas
I cannot work out if this is a good thing or not, but if overseas investors are keeping the UK going during tough times, it has to be good, but then again I have heard overseas hedge funds are buying homes in the UK and pushing up prices for the rest of us, thus sowing the seeds for the next downturn.
Measure the "Benefit"!
I cannot work out if this is a good thing or not, but if overseas investors are keeping the UK going during tough times, it has to be good, but then again I have heard overseas hedge funds are buying homes in the UK and pushing up prices for the rest of us, thus sowing the seeds for the next downturn.
I don't believe "overseas investors are keeping the UK going during tough times", Andrew.
What must be remembered, is equity (Stock and Bond) markets are mainly involved in buying and selling what already exists: not creating anything "New".
Excepting, rare IPOs; and few IPOs of any weight occur in UK since there are too few newish enterprises large enough to matter. (AIM excepted however these are small).
Rights Issues suck in new funds, obviously; however since they are foreign companies, such new funding would invariably finish up overseas.
It is very clear, UK plc lacks capital: so much so that in order to fund the last insane house price bubble, foreign capital had to be "imported" via the global capital markets - mainly short term - and then when the supposed "Credit Crunch" hit, repatriated.
By 2003/04 in their annual "Wealth of Great Britain" report, ONS stated, residential house prices represented over 60% of TOTAL capital wealth!
circa 80% of the FTSE 100 now comprises foreign corporations
...and the statement
"80% of the FTSE are owned overseas" are 2 different statements, and it would be interesting to know which is right. It would be a strange coincidence if both were right.
On such transpositions of ideas, policies are then devised by politicians !
Actually.........
...and the statement
"80% of the FTSE are owned overseas" are 2 different statements, and it would be interesting to know which is right. It would be a strange coincidence if both were right.
On such transpositions of ideas, policies are then devised by politicians !
What I actually wrote, Mickey, was:
[Interesting to note that circa 80% of the FTSE 100 now comprises foreign corporations..........]
Important, also, to drill down into the total capitalisation (i.e. of issued stock).
Oh Dear!
"Ed Miliband's US adviser David Axelrod pays no tax in Britain David Axelrod, the former adviser to Barack Obama, tells The Telegraph that he is resident for tax purposes in the US"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/11540373/Ed-Milibands-US...
Ed Miliband
"Ed Miliband's US adviser David Axelrod pays no tax in Britain David Axelrod, the former adviser to Barack Obama, tells The Telegraph that he is resident for tax purposes in the US"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/11540373/Ed-Milibands-US...
Person resident outside UK supplies services to person in UK shocker? Sounds a rather desperate attempt at a tax smear to be honest.
No disagreement, Michael. Someone else wrote the second statement ( AndrewV12 ) and I was just pointing out that the two statements are not the same. I doubt many politicians however would have a clue what the difference was.
statistics....
they always tell you the truth (I presume the laugher curve takes account of the economy at the time....and presumably people were interviewed to confirm why they 'decided' to pay more tax than in previous years...due to the 'slash' in tax rates'....it couldn't possibly be for any other reason....because that's what the stats say!!!)
@Stratfan:
Not quite.........
Since the man concerned is actually working in the UK!
It would be wholly different if he supplied his consulting services from the USA, only.
e.g. https://www.gov.uk/pay-tax-on-payments-to-foreign-performers