City urges non-dom tax reform delay
Chancellor told to hold back on changes for a year to avoid errors
The City has urged the government to delay its changes to the taxation of
non-domiciled residents in order to avoid unforeseen errors in the future.
‘Don’t rush into it and then have to sort it out afterwards … the dangers
in this [to the City] could be quite big if you get it wrong,’ Miles Templeman,
director-general of the Institute of Directors, told the FT.
Alistair Darling has already been forced into a u-turn on his original
proposals, and has had to assure the City that authorities would not sift
through the overseas finances of non-doms and that gains already accrued in
overseas trusts would not be taxed.
But it is predicted that business will continue to push for further
climbdowns, including a stay of execution and a further rethink.
The Treasury blamed ambiguities in the draft legislation for ambiguities over
the intention of the changes.
Business maintains that the changes were pushed through in a hurried and
chaotic manner and were not consulted on properly.
Further reading:
Darling caves in to non-dom tax
resistance
Tycoon threatens to quit UK in non-dom
furore