Test case for non-dom Robert Gaines-Cooper

A wealthy entrepreneur who was hit with a multimillion-pound tax bill after being stripped of his non-domiciled status has begun a High Court test case that could have big implications for “non-doms”. Robert Gaines-Cooper insists that he has not been “ordinarily resident” in Britain since the mid-1970s, although he has a multimillion-pound house in Henley-on-Thames - home to his collection of paintings, classic cars and guns. Revenue & Customs say that his roots remain in England so he should pay tax. Mr Gaines-Cooper, who is in his seventies, said that he had kept strictly to the Revenue's demands that tax exiles can spend no more than 91 days a year in Britain. In a test case over non-domiciled status, which is generally enjoyed only by the extremely wealthy, he says that the Revenue's refusal to accept him as a non-UK... [read full story]