Tory backlash at Hunt plan to scrap non-dom tax rules in the Budget
JEREMY Hunt has sparked a Tory backlash over proposals to scrap or scale back ‘non-dom’ tax rules.
In a bid to steal Labour’s thunder, the Chancellor is considering changing the nondomiciled tax regime to raise billions of pounds to fund tax cuts at next week’s Budget.
Treasury insiders said Mr Hunt has limited room for manoeuvre and is looking at measures to raise revenue for the exchequer. The idea to scale back non- doms is thought to have originated in No10 – suggesting the Prime Minister is in favour of the plans.
A Cabinet source said Rishi Sunak’s chief of staff, Liam BoothSmith, has been working on it since the end of last year.
But the proposals – likely to be similar to Labour’s plans – faced a backlash from Conservative MPs and the City. One senior Tory said:
‘Taking a significant risk’
‘The impact of high net worth people from overseas taking up residence in the UK is overwhelmingly positive.
‘At a time when we want the City of London to be an international leader in financial services, we should be prepared to make allowances for successful people who want to settle here, spend their money here, and give us the benefit of their expertise.’
And Tory grandee Sir John Redwood said he agreed with the Chancellor’s previous comments that ‘he wanted the rich to stay here and spend their money here’.
‘It is easy to do popular things that make the country worse off,’ Sir John, who is in favour of tax cuts, added.
Victoria Price, managing director at Alvarez & Marsal and leader of the Private Capital Team, warned the Chancellor would be taking a significant risk: ‘While the decision could potentially yield an additional £3.5billion, such a meagre sum has a minimal impact on the UK’s broader financial picture.’
She warned the decision may prompt ‘ultra-high net worth individuals, who have the flexibility to live and work anywhere in the world, to re-evaluate the attractiveness of the UK as a place of residence and business’.
‘Mr Hunt’s decision to exceed Labour’s proposal, which aims to reduce benefits for short-term visitors to the UK and could generate an extra £2billion, could be perceived as extreme and hasty.’
Labour had pledged to scrap the non- dom status, but it is now looking at a compromise enabling individuals to live non- dom in Britain for up to four years, before paying full tax.
Mr Hunt spoke out against Labour’s plans at the end of 2022, saying it would be the ‘wrong thing’ to do. He said at the time: ‘These are foreigners who could live easily in Ireland, France, Portugal or Spain. They all have these schemes. All things being equal, I would rather they stayed here and spent their money here.’
But it would kill off a Labour line of attack on Mr Sunak, whose wife, Akshata Murty, previously benefited from the rules.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor met yesterday and have more meetings planned today to finalise the Budget. They will also receive the final set of fiscal headroom figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Meanwhile, former chancellor George Osborne said there is ‘ friction’ over whether to cut income tax or national insurance.
Mr Sunak has long championed slashing income tax but ahead of next week’s Budget, Mr Hunt is thought to favour a cheaper national insurance cut.
Mr Osborne said: ‘There’s been friction between No10 and No11 – and it’s obvious No10 would like to cut income tax now. That, specifically, is something that Rishi Sunak promised when he was running to be the Tory leader.’