Should Labour win the general election on 7 May, I suspect considerably more of the estimated 7 million British expats around the world could consider abandoning their UK domicile status in exchange for a foreign one, following the party’s promise to scrap the non-dom tax status if they are in government.
As I have previously highlighted, this stance by opposition leader Ed Miliband could result in widespread, damaging consequences for the economy should Labour be successful.  Specifically, targeting non-doms will more than likely lead to a mass exodus of some of the UK’s highest earners who contribute large amounts directly and indirectly to Britain’s economy, and deter others from going to the UK to live, work, invest and pay tax.

But the move could also impact on many of the British expatriates across the globe.  Why? Because it could prevent British expats from changing their UK domicile to a foreign one – something many permanent expats have done with the aim of legally reducing their tax liability, amongst other financial benefits.

Hence if Labour wins next month’s election and goes ahead and scraps the non-dom tax status, I believe that many more expats will consider taking this particular action whilst they still can do so.

However, over the years I’ve seen that the majority of UK expats would prefer not to adopt a foreign domicile, despite the fact they may have lived in their adopted country for a number of years.  Therefore, should Ed Miliband move into  Number 10 next month, I strongly urge British expats to consult an independent financial adviser with the relevant cross border expertise to consider the array of options available to make the most of their expat status, before they change domiciles.

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