Liberal Democrats say that in government have increased the amount of money non doms pay in tax this parliament – raising £160m-a-year for the public purse – by increasing the annual charges they are required to pay.
Under their plans to scrap non dom status, Labour stressed that people in the UK for a genuine temporary short period will be able to retain non dom status. Experts suggest this period would have to be at least five years. But as Ed Balls admitted when he was a Treasury Minister, the vast majority of non doms spend less than five years in the UK so Labour are unable to put a figure on the extra revenue their change would raise. The Lib Dems say this is another example of how Labour are all over the place on the economy.
Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesmand Danny Alexander said: "Labour had thirteen years in government to make rich non doms pay their fair share, yet failed spectacularly to do anything about it. Non-dom numbers exploded under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, more than doubling when Ed Miliband was an adviser in the Treasury. It’s clear that non-dom status cannot go on as it is, which is why Liberal Democrats in government have ensured those with the broadest shoulders make a fair contribution to Britain."
Mr Alexander continued: "We came down hard on those who stayed in the UK for long periods without paying their share - increasing charges on non doms year-on-year since 2010. Labour used to allow non-doms to sit in the House of Lords, Lib Dems stopped that. In the next parliament we want to go further by radically reforming the rules and significantly increasing the charges for non-doms to secure an extra £500m for the public purse. We will ensure that non-dom status cannot be inherited, and that long term residents in the UK pay tax as residents."
"The key tests are what maximises revenue for the exchequer and best supports our economic recovery. Our plans pass both those tests - Labour can't give a clear answer on either." Danny Alexander added.
