People who don't pay UK taxes shouldn't sit in parliament

10.25.00am GMT Mon 14th Dec 2009

Lib Dems have campaigned for years for MPs and peers to pay full UK taxes

Commenting on David Cameron's plans to bar people not paying full UK tax from Parliament and the Government, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary Chris Huhne MP said: "David Cameron's plan is a sham. The super-rich like Lord Ashcroft, Zac Goldsmith or Labour's Lord Paul can be fully resident for tax purposes in the UK, but if they are able to opt for non-dom status they will not pay a penny in UK tax on their main fortune outside Britain. It is the height of hypocrisy for the Tories to suggest a new law now when they recently opposed a Lib Dem bill to stop non-doms sitting as peers."

Chris Huhne said: "David Cameron has still failed to answer the key question: is Lord Ashcroft a non-dom, yes or no? If he is a non-dom, Cameron's tax plan will not catch him. The only reason David Cameron is putting forward this plan now is because of the revelation that his high-profile candidate, Zac Goldsmith, has avoided an estimated £5.8 million in British taxes over the last ten years. Someone who wants to pass laws about tax in this country ought to pay this country's full taxes, and not hide behind the special offshore status of non-doms."

The Observer yesterday said that Goldsmith, the prospective Conservative candidate for Richmond Park, is estimated to have a personal fortune of at least £200m, inherited from his late father, Sir James Goldsmith. Goldsmith admitted last month that he had claimed off-shore "non-dom" status. Since the news became public, he has said he has given it up.

Green groups who have questioned Goldsmith's environmental credentials are also asking why businessmen and companies who profit from the oil and gas industries are giving the Conservatives increasing amounts of cash.

An analysis by the Observer of donations given to the party has shown that six companies and individuals who profit from the oil and gas industries have begun to give it money over the past year. The paper reports that in the current quarter, the Conservatives received a £50,000 donation from "Future Pipe Industries". This firm, registered in Britain, is "headquartered in Dubai" and headed by a UAE resident, Rami Makhzoumi. He told one newspaper: "In recent years the oil and gas market has been our fastest growing end-market due to the overall level of investment in the sector globally, and especially, in the regions in which we operate."

The Observer adds that the Conservatives have also received £55,000 in the last year from John Dodd, a founder member of Artemis Capital. More than a third of Artemis's "Alpha fund" is invested in oil and gas.