Is Darling Right To Charge Non-Doms?
While the UK government continues to flip-flop on the idea of charging non-domiciles £30,000 to live in the UK there is real concern that the scheme could seriously backfire on the City. London is currently one of the financial centres of the world, competing with the likes of America, Japan and China, but 80% of senior executives questioned in the City believe the non-dom charge has serious consequences for the competitiveness of London. The survey also found that 6 out of 10 businesses are very concerned about the future ability of London to attract substantial overseas investment.
Even though the £30,000 charge is substantial to the man on the street, it is loose change to many of the non-doms who are being targeted. However, it is more the change in attitude towards foreign nationals which is causing greatest concern. Many feel that the £30,000 charge is only the start of an onslaught to try and extract as much money from them as possible, at a time when national budgets are under pressure.
If the government scheme goes ahead we will see the emergence of other overseas markets, possibly willing to be a little more appreciative of the wealth and business which non-doms may bring to their country.
Share this..
Related stories
G20 funding short by $88 billion
April's G20 meeting of G20 leaders proudly pledge an additional $500 billion to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with the intention of allowing this money to be injected into struggling economies. However, as we enter September total funds received are in the region of $412 billion leaving an $88 billion shortfall in the IMF funding. So what has happened?
It is unclear exactly...
Is deflation the next problem for the UK economy?
As the UK economy continues to struggle, despite an array of positive reports, the Bank of England statement today would indicate that deflation is still a potential problem for the UK. Mervyn King revealed that inflation is likely to miss the banks 2% target until possibly the end of 2012 and will stay below 1% for the foreseeable future. As a consequence, it looks as if deflation rather than inf...
Read MoreWhen will the UK government chance increasing taxes?
As UK national debt continues to creep higher and is expected to reach £1 trillion over the next two years there is an acknowledgement that UK taxes will need to rise substantially in years to come. While we have seen the introduction of a number of indirect taxes it will be changes to income tax and VAT which will dictate the way ahead and the timing of tax increases in the UK. So when will Gord...
Read MoreAre foreign mortgage lenders entering the UK market?
While mortgage lending in the UK is down by 26% year-on-year and there has been a marked reduction in the number of mortgage lenders operating in the country, it would appear that foreign mortgage lenders are making a play for the UK market while it is at its weakest for some time. So what is going on?
Official figures show that while mortgage lending is down sharply in the UK on a...
Kingfisher forced to issue indicative trading report
The UK retail giant Kingfisher, which owns DIY chain B&Q, was today forced to release a highly unusual indicative trading update to the city. This came about after the head of the company's investor relations division accidentally e-mailed a spreadsheet to a number of city analysts which detailed the forthcoming figures. So what exactly happened?
In a fairly run-of-the-mill investor...