Swraj Paul, the Indian-born industrialist, plays a big role in British life. He is an active member of the House of Lords, a political donor to the Labour party, a philanthropist who helped save London Zoo from closure and chairman of the Olympic Delivery Committee.

But despite living in the UK for more than 40 years, he is not subject to the same tax regime on his overseas income as most Britons. In practice, he says, he gains little benefit from this preferential tax treatment. “I pay a hell of a lot of tax more than I would like.”