§ Mr. Kilfedderasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how long a citizen of the Republic of Eire can live in the United Kingdom before he becomes liable to income tax; how many such citizens enjoyed the benefits of this scheme in the last financial year; what is the estimated cost to the Exchequer of this concession; if he is satisfied with the operation of the scheme; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinUnder an arrangement between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland for the relief of double taxation dating from 1926 the sole right to tax a particular individual is given to the country in which that individual is resident for tax purposes. If a citizen of the Republic comes to work in the United Kingdom and is regarded as resident here, he will be liable to United Kingdom tax on any income arising in this country. There are several criteria for determining whether an individual is resident in the United Kingdom for tax purposes, the most important being that he is here for six months or more in total in the tax year, or that he comes here regularly year by year for periods amounting to three months a year on average.
If he is not liable to United Kingdom tax because he remains resident in Eire, then he remains liable to Eire tax. Arrangements exist for the exchange of 234W information between the tax authorities in the two countries.
No information is available about the number of individuals affected or the cost to the Exchequer of these arrangements. I am satisfied, however, that the scheme operates smoothly.