Wealthy Expats Scrutinized

06 October 2014

HMRC has significantly increased the amount of extra money it obtains from highly paid foreign professionals, having stepped up scrutiny of their tax affairs.

In the 2013-14 tax year, HMRC generated £154m from investigations into high-income workers who are non-UK citizens, up 27% on the previous year. Due to a lack of familiarity with UK tax rules, together with overseas income and tax liabilities, it is easy for expatriate workers to make mistakes on their tax returns.

A statement from HMRC attributed the increase in tax yield to “effective investigation of residence, and domicile status of the individuals seconded to the UK, ensuring earnings taxable in the UK are accounted for.”