Your commercial news round-up: non-domiciled tax status, property sales, car insurance and Gemini

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Jeremy Hunt considers scrapping the non-domiciled tax status and property sales are forecast to rise. Plus, BBC Verify has raised concerns about how car insurance quotes vary between areas and crypto firm Gemini has agreed to return $1.1 billion to customers following a settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). Find out more in this week’s commercial news round-up.

• Jeremy Hunt is considering scrapping the non-domiciled tax status, which is used by people who live in the UK but, for tax purposes, legally reside overseas. People with a non-domiciled status don’t have to pay taxes in the UK on money made elsewhere. According to data from HM revenue and customs, there were 68,800 non-domiciled people in the UK for the tax year ending in 2022. The government is looking for ways to reduce spending, or generate more money in taxes, to afford tax cuts for the British public, and removing this status could generate £3.6 billion. Previously, the conservatives defended this arrangement, as it attracts well-off people to live and work in the UK. Notably, Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, held this status until two years ago, when she committed to paying UK tax on her overseas income.
   
• From tax cuts to housing, property sales are forecast to rise by 10%, according to property website Zoopla. In contrast with February 2023, agreed sales were up by 15% and buyer demand increased by 11%. This comes as a fall in house prices were recorded in some areas of the UK. For example, there was a 2.1% drop in house prices in the east of England. Mortgage deal prices have also been falling since the Bank of England paused rate increases, which has been an important factor boosting sales, along with “faster growth in household incomes”, according to Zoopla.
   
• BBC Verify has found that car insurance quotes were one-third more expensive in areas of the country with the biggest ethnic minority populations. The BBC collected thousands of quotes with the same driver information from different areas. Citizens Advice said the findings added to evidence of an "ethnicity penalty". In 2019, following concerns about insurer’s algorithms, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), found that many companies couldn’t provide details of the measures taken to ensure the Equality Act 2010 isn’t breached when completing quotes. Principal policy manager at Citizens Advice, David Mendes da Costa, said that, following this discovery, the FCA needed to "get off the sidelines and investigate why people of colour are being charged so much more".
   
• Following a settlement with the NYDFS, crypto firm Gemini has agreed to return $1.1 billion to customers of its bankrupt lending programme. On top of this, the company will pay a $37 million fine for “significant failures”. Gemini is run by the Winklevoss twins, who are arguably most famous for their legal dispute with Facebook. In a statement NYDFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris said: "Gemini failed to conduct due diligence on an unregulated third party, later accused of massive fraud, harming Earn customers who were suddenly unable to access their assets after Genesis Global Capital experienced a financial meltdown.” The NYDFS stated that if Gemini doesn’t return at least $1.1 billion to customers further action could be taken. However, Gemini said that the company had been working hard over the previous 15 months to advocate for its Earn customers and “seek the return of their assets”.

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