Tycoon threatens to quit UK in non-dom furore

Irish paper tycoon Dermot Smurfit is considering relocating to Monte Carlo or Switzerland if the Treasury introduces its promised changes to the tax treatment of non-domiciled residents in the UK.

‘If these changes come in, I would probably leave the UK,’ he he told The Daily Telegraph. ‘I have contributed huge amounts to the country and pay significant taxes, about £150,000 a year. If they bring these changes in, it’s goodbye, thanks very much. They would end up with nothing.'

Smurfit, who has a share in a family fortune estimated at half a billion pounds, is currently chairman of paper group, Powerflute. He has lived in the UK as a non-domiciled resident for 20 years.

He said both he and a number of his friends had investigated moving to Monte Carlo and Switzerland, where the tax rules for resident foreigners are more lenient.

Further reading:

Cameron under non dom pressure

Read story in The Daily Telegraph