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Many poor and low-paid individuals, including students and refugees, could face difficulties caused by the Government's changes to tax rules concerning non-domiciled residents.
That's the opinion of the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG), a lobbying initiative set up by the CIOT.
The organisation has warned that 'there are millions of people in the UK who are temporary visitors at any one time' — and many are either
- EU citizens exercising their right to visit the UK,
- skilled migrants from outside the EU,
- students; or
- refugees
Such individuals, said LITRG, will be 'caught up in the chase after the rich' and 'will face a mountain of bureaucracy'.
'Someone with £1,000 or less [of income overseas]… may face a bureaucratic nightmare in trying to prove [it] is all [they] have,' added the lobby group. 'For many, there will be no extra tax to pay, just the hours and hours it takes to prove it.'
LITRG voiced its support for the existing system of tax breaks for temporary visitors, saying it has merit for people on low incomes because they 'just pay their UK tax and national insurance on what they earn in the UK and forget the complexities of what they might have overseas'.
Finally, LITRG raised the issue of educating the non-domiciled about the 'flawed' new tax system, something the organisation sees as a problem.
'Someone has to explain all this complexity to every migrant. LITRG doesn't want to have to do it. The Revenue has no hope of doing so', it claimed.
