The "non-dom" tax status "plays an important role in allowing those from abroad to contribute to our economy", he said.

The UK is not alone in rolling out the red carpet for wealthy foreigners. As Mr Osborne noted, many countries have some sort of special tax status to attract the global rich. Cyprus last week announced plans to introduce the concept of "domicile" into its tax regime. Portugal, Israel and even France have all introduced tax concessions for foreign incomers.

In Switzerland, as in Britain, there has been pressure to increase the fairness of special tax rules for foreign residents but it has stopped short of their abolition. Switzerland is set to increase the bills for rich outsiders using its lump sum tax system but in a recent referendum it rejected proposals to axe them.