
REFORM UK’s proposed change to non-dom tax rules were branded today a “bonanza for billionaires” that would cost the public purse £34 billion a year.
Party leader Nigel Farage insisted the change would be “very attractive” despite admitting he’s “not clever enough” to answer questions about the suggested hit to Britain’s economy.
He said that he believed “tens of thousands of people” would come to Britain “on this ticket” if Reform was successful.
The far-right party said that it would reinstate non-dom status for wealthy individuals in exchange for a £250,000 one-off fee which would be given to Britain’s poorest workers.
Under the “Britannia Card,” non-doms would be offered a 10-year renewable residence permit and a return to the controversial arrangement whereby overseas income can be shielded from British tax.
They would also avoid inheritance tax, with the one-off payment then being distributed to Britain’s bottom 10 per cent of earners.
The Labour government abolished the non-dom tax status in April, which is where British residents whose permanent home or domicile for tax purposes is outside the country.
Today Dan Neidle, founder of Tax Policy Associates, said that the policy would cost Britain £34 billion, warning that some highly skilled and highly paid professionals would not be able to afford the £250,000.
The Office for Budget Responsibility has assessed that recent Labour and Conservative reforms to the non-dom status raise a net £33.9bn from 2026/27 to 2029/30.
This sum is generated from a small number of very wealthy people who Mr Neidle said would opt to buy a Britannia Card and pay no tax, meaning the revenue would be lost.
Because the £250,000 one-off payment would be redistributed, none of the money raised would reduce the impact on the public finances, he said.
Labour Party chairwoman Ellie Reeves MP said: “Nigel Farage’s new policy is quite simply a bonanza for billionaires.
“Not only is this a golden giveaway to the rich, but experts warn this will leave a massive black hole in the country’s finances that working people will be left to pick up the bill for.
“Reform UK is not serious or credible. Every family in the country would foot the bill for their dangerous and unfunded Liz Truss-style policies which would devastate Britain’s economy.”