There are loopholes in the current system whereby Foreign Domiciled Nationals who live in the UK can place certian assets offshore. Domicile rules allow that people can gain concessions for example on Inheritance Tax. The rules on domicile basically allow that you can claim for tax treatment in a foreign land - where rates may be cheaper.The normal rules for being domiciled in the UK and therefore subject to UK taxation are if you have lived in the UK for 17 of the last 20 years.
However, some people claim domicile elsewhere even if they have lived in the UK for 20, 30 or more years. There are also special rules if your father was born in another State.The Chancellor is aiming to clamp down on this and has issued a discussion paper. Some commentators believe that domicile could be bought down to as low as 8-10 years.