Global Tax Coordination - Latest Insights

The outbreak of conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran on 28 February 2026, and the wider instability that has followed across the region, has prompted many individuals and families living in the UAE to reassess their position. The conflict began with coordinated US-Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February, and that it has since widened, affecting the Gulf more broadly and disrupting normal assumptions around regional stability. For many internationally mobile families, the question is no longer simply whether the UAE has been an effective base. It is whether, in light of recent events, they should remain where they are, relocate elsewhere, or return to the UK — and what UK tax consequences may follow from that next step, even if the relocation is only temporary. That is not a question to answer casually.

What was trailed, what was dropped, what was announced and what has happened since? With the benefit of hindsight, the Autumn Budget 2025 now reads less like a single fiscal event and more like a prolonged period of policy signalling, retrenchment and quiet recalibration. In the months leading up to the Budget, a wide range of radical measures were trailed, many of which were ultimately abandoned before Budget Day itself. Others emerged only after the event, including material changes announced just before Christmas that fundamentally altered the inheritance tax landscape for farm and business owners.

The UK Chancellor's Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024 has ushered in a new era of tax reform under the Labour Government. This budget, a watershed moment, introduces sweeping changes that will impact UK resident, both domiciled and non-domiciled, businesses, property ownership, and trust structures.

For trustees and settlors, the upcoming changes to the UK tax regime pose significant challenges, particularly for those managing settlor-interested trusts. The impending reforms, combined with an intensified focus from HMRC on tax investigations, create a complex environment where strategic planning is more critical than ever.

For those who may be affected, the recent changes to the UK tax regime for resident non-domiciled individuals (RNDs) are significant. The announcements in the March Spring Budget and the new Labour Government’s proposals have created a pressing need for immediate and strategic planning.

Urgent need for early planning as significant tax reforms approach.

The Labour Party’s proposal to modify non-dom status, including a potential four-year grace period for new non-doms and a projected decrease in revenue generation, has introduced more questions than answers.