Non Dom MPs, Lords and Inheritance Tax

Remembering back to before the election, there was a lot of fuss about non-dom MPs and members of the House of Lords. The suggestion being that only people who are fully UK resident and domiciled be allowed to sit in the Commons and the Lords.

Like most people I had fallen into the trap of assuming that the normal rules would (or should) apply when considering where MPs and Lords are resident and domiciled.

I am indebted to Kevin Slevin who has identified a much easier solution in an article in Taxation magazine. It warrants (even) wider publicity. Kevin suggests that new provisions be added to relevant tax law to make clear that:

• all elected MPs are treated for all tax purposes as resident in the UK; and
• that anyone also be regarded as domiciled here throughout any income tax year in which they first become or continue to be an elected member of Parliament.

These rules would also apply to anyone who is or becomes entitled to sit in the House of Lords.

Such provisions would be easy to draft and would have no wider implications. Most of all they would also remove any debate as to an individual's current status and any need for discussions as to future intentions.

Kevin's article also touches on a related aspect of the rules of domicile and MPs/Lords. I'll blog about it separately. The full article is here: Parliament: Are they 'Pulling the wool over our eyes' again?