Glenn, as regards capital gains tax, I understand you helped someone who had an international issue with that. Could you elaborate please?

Yes, this was a client who had properties and other assets in Spain, some of these properties were not managing to do what he wanted to do and he needed to dispose of them. As it happens, as most people know a lot of Brits are currently living in, working in, and travelling to Spain, and he managed to sell some of his assets to UK individuals.

His local accountant advised him that he was facing a fairly large capital gains tax liability in Spain, and he would not be getting any of the reliefs that a Spanish resident might get, because he was an overseas individual.

 

We brought the matter up with the Inland Revenue in the UK, and explained to them the overall position. They explained that, because the asset had been transferred from one UK tax resident to another, both of whom were actively reporting and paying tax in the UK, we could treat the business and the asset as being a UK based item and report it in the UK tax return, and pay the UK taxes, rather than be liable to the Spanish tax.

Needless to say, in the UK, this chap managed to claim all the benefits, all the allowances, and all the exemptions, and, quite reasonably, reduce the overall capital gains tax that he would pay.

He was happy anyway!