Will Zac Goldsmith pay for his non-dom status

@stephentall RT @leftfootfwd: Will Goldsmith pay £400,000 for his 16 years as a non-dom, as George Osborne proposes? http://bit.ly/7vrKjh

RT @leftfootfwd Will Zac Goldsmith pay £400,000 for his 16 years as a non-dom, as George Osborne proposes? http://bit.ly/7vrKjh

He would of course be better off under Labour’s policy on non-doms.

Remember how Lord Swraj Paul of Marylebone, who has funded Labour for more than 20 years, said he would no longer donate if the government introduced a bill forbidding party funding from people who do not pay tax on all income from abroad?

Do you think that is worth commenting on?

Sure. I support the proposals published by Compass (p.24) last week:

“The simplest reform would be the most effective: all UK passport holders should pay UK tax on all their worldwide income whether or not they are in the UK. Their tax position would be very clear, and considerable tax avoidance by those claiming to live elsewhere, but continuing to make frequent visits to the UK, would be eliminated if this rule was adopted.

“For those who genuinely leave to take up work or to live in a country which charges tax on an equivalent basis to the UK (which tax havens do not) there would be an exemption from UK tax – but only if proof of paying tax elsewhere was provided. This would mean that those seeking to use tax havens to avoid UK tax could no longer do so.

“For those coming to the UK to live, a much simpler objective test than exists at present would be introduced so they knew where they stood. For example, they could be allowed to pay tax in their home country for the first four years lived in the UK, after which they would pay tax in the UK on the same basis as UK passport holders.”

Do you think Swraj Paul should be allowed to sit in parliament whilst taking advantage of non-domiciled status?

I don’t think anyone unelected should be allowed to sit in parliament.

So, in my hypothetical universe, he would only be in the Lords if he was (a) elected, and (b) complying with the law which would include paying tax (unless he could prove he was paying taxes elsewhere).

How about you? Should we have a tax on non-doms?

Not the answer to the question asked. Incidentally, no, I don’t support taxing non-doms or even progressive taxation. I support a pay-as-you-go economy with service charges.

Do you think non-doms should be allowed to fund political parties?

If not, do you think the parties which have received money from non-doms should pay it back / forfeit the cash?

Leaving aside the question of his non-dom status I don’t think he should be standing for the Conservative Party because he is not a Conservative.

Has anyone seen his recent book on the environment? I leafed through a couple of pages and wanted to curl up and die!

I think I did answer the question actually!

But in answer to the new question, I’d put a stop to it. Interestingly, when I was a US taxpayer, I still wasn’t able to make contributions to the Obama campaign as I wasn’t a US citizen. So I would have thought that being a citizen and a taxpayer would need to be the requirement for party funding. In my view, the parties have all failed in their grassroots funding efforts which is by far the most democratic way of doing it.

Should they pay it back? Tricky one. Legg is demanding retrospective payments (and we are suggesting that Goldsmith might do the same) so there is clearly a precedent. But how far back would it be fair to go? And what would you do about the goods/services on which the money had been used? Perhaps you could draw the line with donations received in the current parliament.

You may also have your facts wrong on Lord Paul

RT @leftfootfwd Will Zac Goldsmith pay £400,000 for his 16 years as a non-dom, as George Osborne proposes? http://bit.ly/7vrKjh

Caparo Group Ltd is his Bearwood Corporate Services.

RT @leftfootfwd: Will Zac Goldsmith pay £400,000 for his 16 years as a non-dom, as George Osborne proposes? http://bit.ly/7vrKjh

Will Zac Goldsmith pay for his non-dom status http://viigo.im/1E5m

RT @adamdustagheer: Will Zac Goldsmith pay for his non-dom status http://viigo.im/1E5m <probably not in a way that helps UK taxpayers

@wdjstraw asks Will Zac Goldsmith pay £400k for his non-dom status in line with George Osborne's tax pledge? http://bit.ly/7lGaeO

In what way would he be required to pay taxes of £400,000. A voluntary contribution! If you ask anyone on the street if they want to pay more taxes I think you will be hard pressed to find a volunteer.

Not sure if you picked this up but he has confirmed today that he is already not a non-dom and the family wealth is held in trust and he pays UK taxes on it like the rest of us.

You might as well suggest a ‘tory’ tax for people who aren’t part of the socialist brotherhood.

[...] doms won’t pay it, raising once again the spectre of Zac Goldsmith and the millions in tax he’s avoided paying over the years, the line about bankers being paid more to make up for the loss – which [...]