A wealthy entrepreneur who was hit with a multimillion-pound tax bill after being stripped of his non-domiciled status has begun a High Court test case that could have big implications for “non-doms”.

Robert Gaines-Cooper insists that he has not been “ordinarily resident” in Britain since the mid-1970s, although he has a multimillion-pound house in Henley-on-Thames - home to his collection of paintings, classic cars and guns. Revenue & Customs say that his roots remain in England so he should pay tax.

Mr Gaines-Cooper, who is in his seventies, said that he had kept strictly to the Revenue's demands that tax exiles can spend no more than 91 days a year in Britain. In a test case over non-domiciled status, which is generally enjoyed only by the extremely wealthy, he says that the Revenue's refusal to accept him as a non-UK resident is “unfair, inconsistent and discriminatory”.

Revenue & Customs is adamant that, despite his years of travelling in search of business opportunities, his true roots are in England and that - at least for tax purposes - he “never left” this country.

Mr Gaines-Cooper began a successful jukebox business venture in England in 1958 and has set up companies in Canada, the US, Italy, Singapore, Jersey, Cyprus and the Seychelles, including a highly successful concern that produces laryngeal masks. He said that he “made a break” with Britain in 1976 - only spending about 50 days a year in England over the next three years - and that his home has long been a luxury house in the Seychelles - Plantation Bois Noir - that he bought in 1975.

Ingrid Simler, QC, for the Revenue, told the court: “What one has to look for is his strongest connection; it has always been in England. He didn't break his domicile.”

However, David Milne, QC, for Mr Gaines-Cooper, said that his client had “long left” England by the time of the tax years in issue (1993 to 2004) and, as he was encouraged to do by the Revenue, “very carefully calculated” the number of days that he spent in this country.

After a two-day hearing, Mr Justice Lloyd Jones reserved judgment.

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