The mystery of Tony Blair's finances | Politics | guardian.co.uk .
Blair is as opaque as ever.
Worth reading.
And a perfect example of how not to manage your finances, unless it is your intention to mainly benefit accountants and lawyers.
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
And his two sons are apparently applying for or have already got Irish passports…is that a first step to them claiming to be non-doms ?
@Rupert
For heaven’s sake appreciate that a passport is not the same as domicile
For an offshore operator you really don’t show a strong grasp of the issues
I think you are being a bit harsh on Rupert here. I would agree that there is something suspicious about the Blair sons acquiring foreign passports. This won’t get them foreign domicile per se, but it might be a step on the way there.
@James from Durham
James
Maybe, but if so only a little
As I will testify – having an Irish grandparent is enough to get an Irish passport
But first, I think it is the maternal line that gives the Blair children this – which does not count for domicile of origin
Second that assumes Cherie has maintained this – which seems hard to imagine
Third – a passport is really no indication for domicile – it’s connections that count and that is of little use
Fourth, Irish domicile is of limited value to a UK resident, being ina special category all of its own
Richard
Richard
indeed a fascinating article – trust you will rise to the Guardian challenge and find the time to apply your forensic accounting and tax skills to unravelling Blair’s scheme. There is clearly aggressive (abusive) tax planning here but which does not appear to involve any offshore secrecy jurisdiction?
Richard
I know an awful lot about the law of domicile as it happens. But if you had bothered to read my posting, I simply asked whether it was the first step to claiming foreign domicile. Severing one’s links with the current country is an important step. For all we know they may have already become resident in Ireland. Rather easier for 20-odd year olds to do this than it is for older people.
So, if they have ceased to reside in the UK and taken Irish citizenship, in about 3 to 4 years time they may well have done enough to acquire a new domicile of choice on Ireland. The “deemed domicile” 3-year rule will not be an issue by then for them, and if they are donees rather than donors then UK IHT won’t affect them.
Seems to me to be a perfect opportunity for Tony and Cherie to make PETs to their non-domiciled and non-resident children who can then spend more time in the UK and invest the money offshore, relying on the remittance basis for CGT and income tax purposes, and to set up excluded property trusts to shelter any significant UK assets from future IHT and also from CGT.
If Tony and Cherie have now got so much wealth, they will no doubt have taken advice. Seems a perfectly plausible rationale for their sons moving to Ireland. Why else take Irish passports ? Dad is from Scotland and Mum’s from Liverpool. Or can you think of another reason ?
[…] By dnicoll Interesting coverage recently of Tony Blair’s tax affairs from the Guardian, Tax Research UK, and HMRC is […]