The profession is totally divided on exactly how many non-doms there are in the UK who would have to pay a levy in return for keeping their foreign income exempt from tax.

In a reader poll, Accountancy Age asked how many non-doms would be able to pay a levy of £25,000, a proposed by the Tories, in return for tax exemption on foreign income.

Close to a third of the 139 respondents (31%) said the debate on non-dom numbers is not worth having at all.

But 28% of the respondents said Treasury estimates that less than 15,000 non-doms could pay the levy were correct, while 27% said the Treasury figures were way too small and that Tory calculations of more than 150,000 were closer to the mark.

The remainder of the respondents (14%) said the number of non-doms was closer to 200,000 and far greater than most authorities have estimated.

The sharp divisions in the poll show how contentious the non-dom issue has become, and also highlights the inadequacy of current statistics on the non-dom numbers and the amount of tax non-doms pay.

In the pre-Budget report chancellor Alistair Darling introduced a £30,000 levy on non-doms who had been in the UK for more than seven years and wanted to remain exempt from tax on foreign income.

Further reading:

Treasury says just 4,000 non-doms face levy

Faults exposed in non-dom regime

Brown and Darling talk non(dom)sense