With the UK announcing new tax rules for foreigners living in
the country, the government has been careful not to damage the
country's appeal to wealthy foreigners.
The "non-dom" tax status "plays an important role
in allowing those from abroad to contribute to our economy",
says George Osborne, the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Along with the UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Israel and France have
special tax rules to attract rich foreigners, with Cyprus recently
announcing plans to introduce the concept of "domicile"
into its taxation system.
Countries which try to draw in wealthy foreigners are starting
to offer more than just tax concessions. Several countries,
including many EU nations, have started to sell residence permits,
while a few even offer passports. The number of citizenship by
investment schemes have surged since the recent financial
recession, with Cyprus even going as far as to offer foreign
investors full citizenship as compensation for the loss
