§ I said last December that I believed it important to find ways of improving the tax treatment of employees living in this country and working abroad, particularly those at the sharp end of exporting. The Inland Revenue issued a consultative document with proposals for changes. In the light of many representations and discussions, I am putting forward some changes in the original proposals designed mainly to benefit those who work abroad for relatively short periods at a time.
§ I now propose that any employee who works abroad for a total of 30 days or more in a tax year should qualify for the tax relief, whether or not the 30 days are continuous. This means that he will pay no tax on 25 per cent. of his earnings from work overseas. And those who have separate employments with overseas companies requiring them to carry out all their duties abroad will also qualify for the reduction, regardless of the length of their absence abroad. Details of my proposals are set out in the Press release which the Inland Revenue will be issuing today.