There has been an expected mass departure of wealthy non-doms who live in London but this has not been seen as many have found that they would make a loss if they were to try and sell their property.
The main reason convincing the wealthy to remain in the UK is the slump that the housing market is experiencing at the moment. Another factor could be that a leading financial services company has advised that the UK’s career opportunities and culture mean that the UK is still one of the most attractive systems.
Many non-doms are saying that they won’t sell their property until they can get the best price for it. Income that isn’t taxed can still be used for existing offshore mortgages, but this tax break will not be available for new mortgages.
The financial services company have said that this is meaning that non-domicile professionals are having to really consider where is best for them to be, but that most are deciding on the UK as the place for them.
After a campaign by the city, the Government decided to water down their idea for a new tax regime that was meant for non-doms. However, the £30,000 fee remains for foreigners who have lived in Britain for more than seven years and who want to keep their offshore earnings out of the UK tax net.
These changes prompted many of the 115, 000 non-doms registered by the treasury to seek offshore mortgage advice etc from their accountants and law firms. This was found by a consultancy that researched and recorded the views of people and companies concerned.
The consultancy also said that many other countries were attracting non-doms, such as; Switzerland and Dubai.
