London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 08, 2025

Sajid Javid: 'Question marks' over health secretary's claim to non-dom status, tax experts say

Sajid Javid: 'Question marks' over health secretary's claim to non-dom status, tax experts say

The health secretary reportedly held non-domiciled status for six years between 2000 and 2006, which would mean not having to pay UK taxes on his overseas earnings.

There are "question marks" around the validity of Sajid Javid’s claim to "non-dom" status, according to tax experts.

The health secretary previously told The Sunday Times he had held non-domiciled status for six years between 2000 and 2006, which would mean not having to pay UK taxes on his overseas earnings.

He said he was entitled to this because his father was born in Pakistan and said he gave up that status in 2009, before he was elected to parliament.

But this is only one of several tests an individual needs to pass to claim the tax benefit.

People with non-dom status are those who live in the UK and are tax residents here but have their permanent home outside the country.

Usually their domicile will be the country that their father considered their permanent home when they were born, and to which they intend to eventually return.

They must demonstrate to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that their domicile is in another country.

Tax experts said that for Mr Javid's claim be valid his father would have had to have been domiciled in Pakistan at the time the health secretary was born.

Ray McCann, a tax consultant and former HMRC inspector, told Sky News it was typically only those who are very wealthy who become aware that they can claim non-dom status to save on tax.

He said he would have been "astonished" if Mr Javid's father had claimed it given how much has been said about his modest background.

He said it is hard to know the circumstances without the health secretary sharing the information but there were some areas that are "not free from doubt".

"There are some question marks," he said.

Dan Neidle, former head of tax at Clifford Chance, the law firm, also said he found it "surprising" that Mr Javid's father would have had non-dom status when he was born.

"For most immigrants in this country, there's a point where it becomes clear they're not going back, and at that point they acquire a domicile of choice which is the UK," he told Sky News.

He said it does not seem "particularly credible" that Mr Sajid was able to assert that his long-term future was not in the UK given that he spent most of his life in the country.

"It looks like quite a surprising and racy position," he said, adding that "we can't be sure without seeing the facts".

Nimesh Shah, chief executive at Blick Rothenberg, an accountancy firm, also questioned whether Mr Javid had sufficient personal links to another country to justify the claim.

"This is where my scepticism comes in: Sajid Javid has lived in the UK pretty much all his life," he said.

In 2006, Mr Javid moved to Singapore and was therefore no longer a tax resident, which changed when he returned in 2009, saying he "proactively chose" to give up his non-dom status.

Mr Shah pointed out that in 2009 the government introduced a fee of £30,000 for those claiming non-dom tax status, which had previously been free.

"It seems overly coincidental that he decided to declare himself as now UK domiciled in the same year, or around the same time that the government introduced this flat charge," he said, adding that there seemed to be a "little chink" in how Mr Javid was framing the decision.

Mr McCann said that, from his perspective as a former HMRC inspector, Mr Sajid's case appeared to be "borderline" by today's standards, but at the time there was less scrutiny of such claims.

He thinks that the health secretary could have used his time spent in Singapore and travelling in the US as an investment banker to express "uncertainty" about where he would spend the rest of his life, and that could have been sufficient.

Mr Javid declined to comment.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
×