Comparison website ‘misleading’ savers into buying low rates

Living as an expat in Spain, or indeed in any other country, brings particular and sometimes very complex wealth management requirements because managing personal finances across multiple jurisdictions is inherently complex and invariably requires specialist advice.

This goes some way to explain why thousands of British expats have recently been caught and penalised for either failing to pay taxes or unlawfully claiming British pension and other social security benefits while living and, in some cases, working abroad.

Cross-border taxation for expats is a notoriously confusing area of wealth management and can seem especially onerous with new data sharing and enforcement rules in place. Unfortunately, not all asset managers are as familiar with tax reporting requirements as they should be. This may seem inconceivable, but wealth management professionals in Spain, across Europe and indeed the globe have an obligation to clients to ensure that they understand and follow all the rules.

Providers of financial services abroad frequently find themselves undertaking work involving tax and the various cross-border issues involved with taxation.

As such, any provider of expat financial services should know that H.M. Revenue and Customs (HMRC) now has improved scope for the recovery of tax from UK expatriates.

This is due in no small part to the “Mutual Assistance in the Recovery of Debt” (MARD) agreements the UK has in place with various countries. These agreements operate across the EU and have been in place since 2012, allowing HMRC to recover taxes that are owed. Other countries signatory to MARD agreements include Norway, New Zealand and South Africa.