By Jason Farrell, Senior Political Correspondent
Ed Miliband has defended his policy to abolish non-dom status after it emerged the shadow chancellor recently said scrapping the tax rule would cost the country money.
The Labour leader unveiled plans to end the rule that allows some of the wealthiest to limit the amount of tax they pay in the UK and stop Britain effectively becoming an "offshore tax haven" for the wealthiest.
But the Conservatives were quick to point out an interview with BBC Leeds in January in which Ed Balls said doing away with non-dom status would be expensive.
:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015
In the interview Mr Balls said: "I think if you abolished the whole status then probably it ends up costing Britain money because there will be some people who will then leave the country.
"But I think we can be tougher and we should be and we will."
The Tories tweeted out a version of the video in which Mr Balls' last sentence was omitted as evidence that the Labour policy was "unravelling".
:: All You Need To Know About Non-Dom Status
However, tackled about the interview during his speech at Warwick University, the Labour leader said: "We've found a way to do this that independent experts say will raise hundreds of millions of pounds."
Mr Balls later tweeted: "My interview with BBC in January, when we working on policy, fully consistent with announcement today - but Tories edited my interview."
Mr Miliband announced plans to end non-dom status for all but "real temporary residents".
There are 116,000 non-doms in the UK who pay no tax on their earnings outside the UK because either they, their fathers or grandfathers were born in another country and consider that home. The status can be inherited.
Mr Miliband said: "It works against every business and working person in this country who has to pay more as a result, everybody who relies on public services like the NHS, everybody who believes in Britain and a fair and modern country.
"The United States doesn't do it. No other major country in the developed world does it. No one would propose doing it now if didn't already exist. One rule for some and another for others? It is unjust, it does not work, it holds Britain back and we will stop it."
The Conservatives say scrapping the 200-year-old tax rule would cost the country money because non-doms would simply leave the country.
Chancellor George Osborne said: "We have Ed Balls himself saying it would cost the country money.
"It is a classic example of the economic chaos and confusion you get with Ed Miliband.
"It's why they have no economic credibility."
Mr Osborne tightened the rules on non-doms in the Autumn Statement, charging those who have been resident in the UK for 17 years £90,000 a year to allow them to retain non-dom status.
There had been confusion when Nicky Morgan, the Tory Education Secretary, suggested in an interview on the BBC's Today programme the party would tax all those based in the UK on all earnings - including those earned abroad.
Mr Miliband was also sharply criticised because of the significant increase in the number of non-doms under the last Labour government.
The Liberal Democrats said the "vast majority" of those who took advantage of "non-dom" status spent less than five years in the UK.
Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, said the policy might be a "shrewd political move" but added: "It's very unclear what additional revenue would be raised, but the UK's international reputation would be put at risk."
Nigel Farage said UKIP would put up the fees for people to retain the non-dom status and would stop it from being hereditary.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Labour Would Abolish 'Non-Dom' Tax Status
Dengan url
http://eropaartikel.blogspot.com/2015/04/labour-would-abolish-non-dom-tax-status.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Labour Would Abolish 'Non-Dom' Tax Status
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Labour Would Abolish 'Non-Dom' Tax Status
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar