Fewer British residents have applied for a special tax break since the beginning of the financial crisis, data has revealed.

The super rich have for years taken advantage of the break which allows residents to exclude much of their income from taxation.

An individual with foreign ties can apply for "non-domiciled" status and be taxed only on money earned in the UK or brought into the country for a fee of £30,000 or £50,000.

However, the number of people using the benefit fell to 116,000 in the tax year to April 2011 from 140,000 in 2007-2008, a spokesman for the UK tax authority told Reuters.

Head of Tax at Pinsent Masons, Jason Collins, said the figures showed the UK was becoming a less attractive location for the rich since the government started charging a fee for the tax break in 2008 and the introduced a 50% upper income tax rate in 2010.

The results were also affected by lower employment in the financial sector and the economic downturn, he added.

Collins said the number of those non-domiciled was still high compared to the 1997/98 tax year, when 83,000 applied for the break.

RD

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