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Banker claims he is one of a 'new breed of highly mobile individuals' so should pay less tax

'I relied on the company tax advisers and ultimately did what I was told' Andrew Mackay said

Ben Chapman
Thursday 06 April 2017 13:49 BST
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Bankers are fighting back as the Government cracks down on people who work in the UK but claim they live elsewhere
Bankers are fighting back as the Government cracks down on people who work in the UK but claim they live elsewhere (Getty)

A finance executive has claimed he is part of a "new breed" of highly mobile individuals and should not be required to pay UK income tax on all of his earnings.

Anthony Mackay who is chairman-emeritus of Chi-X Global, which runs trading platforms, admitted that he worked in the UK and lived with his family in a house in Surrey, Bloomberg reported.

The statements were made via his lawyers in documents filed at the High Court amid a tax probe.

Bankers are currently fighting back as the Government cracks down on people who work in the UK but claim they live elsewhere.

New rules coming into force on Thursday mean that people residing in Britain for 15 of the past 20 tax years will be deemed as domiciled in the UK for tax purposes.

Tax officials are also investigating the residency status of HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver,

Both Mr Gulliver and Mr Mackay worked in Hong Kong for periods and claim non-domiciled status which allows them to pay a lower rate of tax than the average UK citizen.

Mr Mackay, 57, could face a £2.7m bill, according to filings prepared for his case and viewed by Bloomberg.

The Government has said he was “ordinarily resident” in the UK from 2004 to 2007.

But Mr Mackay's lawyers described him as one of a “new breed” of people who “work on the other side of the globe from their spouses, from their families and from the homes occupied by their spouses and families,” the documents show.

In an evidence session on 17 March, Mr Mackay reportedly said: "I relied on the company tax advisers and ultimately did what I was told."

Britain’s non-dom regime is a remnant of empire that was introduced during the reign of King George III in 1799.

The status allowed landowners to escape taxes on their colonial wealth unless they brought it home.

Now, it is more commonly used by bankers and other wealthy individuals who don't want to pay tax on their overseas earnings.

Last month Mr Gulliver lost his bid to close down an HMRC investigation into how he maintained his non-dom status.

The case is investigating Mr Gulliver's residence for the 2013-2014 tax year.

The HSBC chief executive is no stranger to authorities asking difficult questions about his tax affairs. In March 2015, MPs quizzed him about £5m he held in a Swiss HSBC bank account.

The account's existence was unearthed after a huge leak demonstrating how HSBC's private bank had helped thousands of its clients avoid tax.

HSBC Chairman grilled over Swiss cash withdrawals

HMRC has requested answers to 123 questions and asked for 33 categories of documents, the Financial Times reports. The tax tribunal office said it would be premature to close the inquiry as Mr Gulliver had not answered all of those questions.

The Independent has contacted HSBC for comment.

Additional reporting by Bloomberg

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