(Except clauses 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 16, 20 and 92) - Clause 5
Finance Bill
4:35 pm
Stephen Timms (Financial Secretary, HM Treasury; East Ham, Labour)
No, there is no implication for EU nationals. The matter is purely about people who are not resident in the UK but, up until now, have been entitled to personal allowances in UK tax on the sole basis of being Commonwealth citizens. Hence, it is rather unusual. The hon. Gentleman expressed a concern on behalf of his constituents, and, of course, if they are his constituents, by definition they are resident in the UK and will therefore continue to benefit from allowances in the normal way.
Most Commonwealth citizens with income liable to tax in the UK will still be able to claim UK personal allowance. That is either, as I have said, because they live here or because they qualify under other provisions. I will run through what some of those provisions are.
To be affected by the change, a person must be non-resident in the UK. If they are resident here, they are qualified in the normal way, but even if they were non-resident, there would be other provisions, under which most will probably be eligible for personal allowances and reliefs.
Those provisions were set out in the Income Tax Act 2007, and they include, for example, anyone who
“(a) is resident in the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands,
(b) has previously resided in the United Kingdom and is resident abroad for the sake of the health of—
(i) the individual, or
(ii) a member of the individual’s family who is resident with the individual,
(c) is a person who is or has been employed in the service of the Crown,”—
I think the hon. Gentleman referred to nurses working with the Ministry of Defence as an example, and their position should be safeguarded by that particular provision—
“(d) is employed in the service of any territory under Her Majesty’s protection,
(e) is employed in the service of a missionary society, or
(f) is a person whose late spouse or late civil partner was employed in the service of the Crown.”
A wide range of people who are non-resident and are Commonwealth citizens could still benefit from the allowances on the basis of those provisions.