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Recent analysis conducted by The Sunday Times of 18,700 title deeds revealed that more than £100 billion of property in Central London is owned by offshore companies. 

Non-UK domiciled individuals wishing to invest in UK property can benefit through structuring their investment through a non-resident company and realise a gain on the ultimate sale without any liability to UK capital gains tax.  If the proposal is to develop and trade in UK property it may still be adventageous to use a non-resident company whose shares can be sold rather than the property.  These planning opportunities, together with the avoidance of inheritance tax and in some cases stamp duty, continue to make the use of non-resident companies attractive.

It is estimated that 1 in 20 properties in Central London are now owned by offshore vehicles and in many circumstances it is worth obtaining professional advice when purchasing property, as professional planning can assist in a more secure and efficient way of owning and/or leasing that property.

To find out more please contact Stephen Colderwood.

Ed Miliband, the UK Labour Party Leader, has come under fire from the Crown Dependencies after he announced that the Labour Party wanted the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey persecuted as tax havens.  Miliband is urging the UK coalition government to force the Crown Dependencies to reveal the names of wealthy UK investors who use tax planning with the threat of putting them on the OECD black list if they do not co-operate.

The Isle of Man's Chief Minister Allan Bell said Miliband was "ill-informed" and had made his statement to boost his own image. "You must look at Ed Miliband's own position at the moment, he has been under severe attack for lack of leadership.  He is looking for scapegoats."

It is estimated, by The Foot Report in late 2009, that up to 2 billion GBP is the total amount of funds that could be avoiding UK taxes by structures established in all three Crown Dependencies, but a whopping 195 billion GBP is being fed back through to the UK banking system from these same territories.

For further information on this or any other Fedelta news item, please contact Stephen Colderwood.
 

The Isle of Man’s Tax Information Exchange Agreement with Portugal will enter into force on 18 January 2012.

The agreement was signed in London on 9 July 2010 and is now ratified by both parties.

The text of the agreement can be viewed by following this link.

The Isle of Man’s agreement with France for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to enterprises operating ships or aircraft in international traffic will enter into force on 14 January 2012.

The agreement, which is one of two tax co-operation agreements with France, was signed in Douglas on 26 March 2009 and has now been ratified by both parties.

The first agreement, a tax co-operation agreement, came into force on 4 October 2010.

The text of the agreement can be viewed by following this link.

On 19 December 2011 the Tax Information Exchange Agreement between the Isle of Man and Canada came into force.

The agreement was signed in Douglas on 17 January 2011 and is now ratified by both parties.

The text of the agreement can be viewed by following this link.

The Isle of Man has now signed 29 agreements that meet the OECD standards.

The European Council of Finance Ministers has approved the Isle of Man’s zero-ten tax regime, having originally postponed a decision until January.  It is understood that the matter was brought forward with a desire to complete current Code Group business by the end of the year.

The EU Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation announced in September that it agreed the regime and no longer had problems following the abolition of the Attribution Regime for Individuals in the Isle of Man Budget in February.

This approval by ECOFIN concludes the two year saga and provides certainty for long term corporate tax planning.

For further information on this or any other Fedelta news item, please contact our New Business Executive, Stephen Colderwood.

HM Treasury has recently published a report on whether to adopt a General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) to the UK tax system.  The report concluded that a GAAR would benefit the UK tax system, provided it was limited in its scope.

The report was written by a committee chaired by Graham Aaronson QC and recommends a moderate rule targeted solely at purely abusive arrangements and is unequivocal that GAAR should not be broad enough to deter or counteract what the report refers to as ‘the centre ground of sensible and reasonable tax planning’.  The onus of proving that any planning was not reasonable should fall on HMRC, the report goes on to suggest that GAAR would look to identify and counteract tax planning with ‘abnormal features specifically designed to achieve a tax advantageous result’.

The government will respond to the report in the 2012 Budget and formal public consultation will take place before GAAR is introduced.

The full report can be viewed on the HM Treasury website by clicking here.

If you have questions relating to any Fedelta news article then please contact Stephen Colderwood.

Isle of Man Treasury Minister, Eddie Teare MHK, has welcomed in Tynwald this week, the announcement of Royal Assent for new legislation adding to the Island’s international wealth management offering.

The Foundations Act provides for the establishment of foundations as an alternative to trusts as asset holding vehicles.  Foundations resemble trusts in many respects, but like a company, they have separate legal personality.  The existence of a foundation will be recorded on a public register and a local registered agent must be appointed who will be accountable to the authorities.

Mr Teare explained: “The Manx Foundation will be a bespoke product that will provide our financial services industry with an additional tool to open up new business opportunities. The world of wealth management is highly competitive so it is vitally important that Government keeps working in partnership with the private sector to enhance the Island’s offering to international clients.”

Fedelta welcome this new legislation and will be happy to provide further information and services, where appropriate, on the establishment and operation of Manx Foundations.  Not only is the foundation potentially more attractive to civil law jurisdictions, it also allows various parties, such as family members, to form part of the foundation council, providing comfort to some clients.

For further information please contact our New Business Executive, Stephen Colderwood.