Chris Elmore, MP for Ogmore, has demanded the UK Tory Government finally “gets their act together and tackles tax dodgers” once and for all. This follows news last week that former Chair of the Conservative Party, Nadhim Zahari MP, had to pay an undisclosed penalty to HMRC for failing to pay all tax owed.

On Tuesday, 31 January 2023, the Labour Party put forward a motion to end non-domicile tax status to ensure that everyone pays their fair share of tax. The UK Tory Government have repeatedly failed to deal with the non-dom tax status loophole, instead choosing to raise more taxes from working people to their highest level in generations. Indeed, the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak MP, is known to benefit from non-dom tax status in the past.

The 26,000 non-doms that benefit from tax breaks are estimated to have almost £11bn per year in unreported income and capital gains overseas.

It is estimated that this means more than £3bn in lost tax revenue in the UK (£3.2bn)

The next UK Labour Government will abolish the outdated and unprincipled non-dom status and take the following action:

1. Abolish non-dom status, and introduce a modern scheme for people who are genuinely living in the UK for short periods to allow us to continue to attract top international talent.
2. This would put an end to the broken 200-year-old system that lets people dodge millions in tax, and bring our rules into line with those of other major economies like France, Germany and Canada.
3. Crack down on hidden offshore trusts that allow people to avoid paying tax in the UK.
4. Using HMRC data, researchers from Warwick University and the LSE calculated that the regime of not taxing offshore income of non-doms costs more than £3bn. A Labour government would use the revenue to fund the biggest recruitment drive in modern NHS history, and breakfast clubs for primary age children.

Chris Elmore MP voted for the Labour Opposition Day Debate motion.

Chris Elmore, MP for Ogmore, said:

“The last two weeks have shown the UK Tory Government is completely detached from reality. Whilst senior Cabinet Ministers squirrel away millions of pounds overseas to minimise their tax bill, everyone else sees their taxes go up.

“t’s been 13 years of inaction on non-dom status under the Tories. It’s time for them to get their act together and tackle tax dodgers. Billions is being lost to those who live in the UK, but refuse to pay their fair share. This is money we could be using for healthcare, schools, policing and our veterans.

The Labour Party stands for a fairer system – working people should not be forced to use food banks to feed their children or to sit in coats to save on heating. We need a fairer society. We need a UK Labour Government.”