This figure is comprised of total UK income tax, capital gains tax, national insurance contributions (NICs) and revenue from the remittance basis charge for claimants liable to pay it.
The statistics released by HMRC contain information about individuals, both UK and non-UK residents, claiming non-domiciled status in the UK via their self-assessment tax returns.
The data covers the period from tax year 2007/08 to 2014/15 – the latest tax year for which complete information is available, HMRC noted.
Key statistics
There were an estimated 121,300 individuals claiming non-domiciled taxpayer status in the UK in 2014/15.
Source: HMRC – Statistic tables on non-domiciled UK taxpayers
Non-domiciled UK-resident taxpayers accounted for 85,400 and the remaining 35,800 were non-UK residents.
Those claiming non-domiciled taxpayer status in 2014/15 paid a total of £6,747m in UK income tax, £252m in capital gains tax and £2,253m in NICs.
The 85,400 UK-residents paid a total of £6,533m in UK income tax, £250m in capital gains tax and £2,217m in NICs.
“Non-dom taxpayers make a huge contribution to HM Treasury and the UK economy as a whole – far more than most people realise,” Steven Porter, a partner at international law firm Pinsent Masons commented.
The figures also show that the total number of taxpayers claiming a non-dom status has marginally increased to 121,300 in 2014/15 from 119,800 in 2013/14 – a trend potentially jeopardised by Brexit.
“We will have to wait and see how Brexit affects this as the information released doesn’t yet cover the referendum,” Porter noted.
Small impact
The report by HMRC shows that revenue from the remittance basis charge – a tax break for non-doms which means they are taxed only on foreign income and capital gains when they are remitted to the UK – has stalled at £226m, or 2.4% of the £9.3bn in overall tax receipts.
HMRC – Remittance basis tax statistics for the UK, 2007-08 to 2014-15
“The remittance basis charge was introduced to extract more tax from non-doms,” noted Porter. “However, non-doms will be keen to avoid being used as a cash-cow. The government must be careful not to drive them out.”
Regime change
The attractiveness of the remittance basis tax regime to wealthy individuals is also potentially hampered by the anticipated removal of the long-term non-dom status, although this change wouldn’t be reflected in the statistics published today by HMRC.
Under the new system – which was scheduled to go live on April 6 and was subsequently put on hold in the run up to the snap election on 8 June – non-UK domiciles who have resided in the country for more than 15 of the past 20 tax years will now automatically be deemed UK-domiciled.
Non-dom status for Britons who return to the UK but claim to have a permanent home abroad will also be removed ‘as soon as possible’, the UK Treasury announced in July.
“The removal of long-term non-dom status may have also blunted the attractiveness of the UK to wealthy individuals,” Porter observed.
“Many are internationally mobile and can easily relocate.”
