His declaration in the register of members’ interests was made before the general election but officially announced by the House of Lords yesterday – eight days before a deadline for all peers to be domiciled in the United Kingdom for tax purposes. A spokesman for Lord Ashcroft denied that the decision to stand down as chief executive of BCB Holdings Ltd, which has banking and “other interests” in Belize, was connected to the new requirement on MPs and peers to be domiciled and resident for tax purposes. He said that there was “nothing surprising” about the alterations to the register, but refused to say what steps Lord Ashcroft was taking to ensure he paid full tax in the UK. The spokesman said: “He is going to be sitting in the House of Lords after the deadline, after which point it would be committing an offence not to be both domiciled and resident.” The register was also altered to delete his shareholding in Global Health Partner AB, which was said to provide “specialised health care services”. Lord Ashcroft’s spokesman said that it was common for him to update his entry to reflect his changing business interests. Before the general election, it emerged that Lord Ashcroft remained a “non dom” a decade after William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, told the Lords Appointments Committee that he would become a permanent resident and so pay substantially increased tax. The pledge was a condition of his elevation to the Lords. Since then, he has donated £5.1 million to the Conservatives, funding the marginal seats campaign at last month’s election. Separately, Lord Strathclyde, the Leader of the House of Lords, has announced that a group will examine whether peers should be able to resign from the upper chamber. The move was presented as a means of helping elderly peers to retire rather than remaining for life as at present. But it would also allow lords who did not wish to bring their tax affairs onshore to do so. Lord Strathclyde said: “Membership of the House is ever-growing and fast approaching 800. With more new members due to be introduced in the coming weeks and months, we need to look at how we can make it possible for Members to leave the House. “The Group I am establishing will work to identify possible options for Members to terminate their membership and leave the House of Lords.”Lord Ashcroft tells Parliament he no longer
heads Belize bank
Lord Ashcroft, the Conservative Party bank roller, has formally declared to
Parliament that he no longer heads a bank in the Central American country of Belize.
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
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