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Expats join forces to publish paper

The document, written by Jane Golding and Jeremy Morgan, two British lawyers living in the EU, was published by a coalition of 10 groups that represent British citizens who’ve made the choice to leave their home and move to another European country. Among the groups were Bremain, in Spain, and the British Community Committee of France.

The main argument put forward by the Alternative White Paper is that since the referendum “gave no mandate to alter the rights” of expats (who are estimated by the authors to be between 1.2 and 2.1 million in number), and considering that these expats would have originally made the move believing that their EU citizenship rights were “irrevocable”, it would be completely unreasonable to neglect their needs and leave their futures uncertain.

The document urges that everything must be done to ensure expats’ rights are not negatively affected and that these steps are taken as “a matter of urgency to bring an end to the anxiety” many expats are feeling over their future. Golding and Morgan make a case for all of the pre-Brexit rights of expats to be included in any Article 50 withdrawal agreement.

Issues highlighted in the Alternative White Paper include expats’ right to study, the right to have qualifications recognised in another country, the right to work, and their entitlement to healthcare. Another notable issue is concern over pensions, in particular whether expats’ pensions will continue to be uprated in line with inflation. The authors emphasise that all these rights are “indivisible”; it is impossible to take one away without having an undesirable knock-on effect on the others.

Theresa May has previously expressed the need to guarantee the rights of both British expats living in the EU and the EU citizens already living Britain at the earliest possible time. The report acknowledges May’s statement regarding this but mentions that since the Prime Minister has not yet confirmed which exact rights she wishes to guarantee, there is still much cause for concern.

If you’re an expat, then in this uncertain time it is important that you receive all the professional financial advice necessary so that you can best protect your money. Whatever the future holds in terms of Brexit, Blacktower’s financial advisers will continue to keep abreast of all the recent developments, helping you decide to do what’s best with your finances. Our range of expat financial services include giving detailed financial advice for expats during Brexit. This will include everything from wealth management to regular savings to setting up a QROPS (Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension).

So, if you’re worried about any aspect of your financial management and how it may be affected by Britain leaving the EU, contact a Blacktower adviser today.

This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, investment recommendations or investment research. You should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this communication is correct, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions.

Other News

Changes to the Dutch 30% reimbursement ruling confirmed

Thirty Percent SignRecent news about the 30% tax ruling in the Netherlands could have substantial implications for British expats and their financial planning and wealth management strategies.

The 30% tax ruling for expats in the Netherlands enables employers to offer working expats 30% of their salary tax-free as long as they meet certain requirements. The intended aim is to encourage highly skilled workers from around the globe to bring their expertise to the Netherlands. After all, relocating to the Netherlands is not cheap, and the tax advantage is there to help offset all the expense that comes with relocating. There are approximately 60,000 expats who currently claim the tax break.

As we reported last year, the tax break came under fire in a report published by the Dutch research bureau Dialogic for being far too generous and, therefore, costing the Dutch government too much money for it to be sustainable. When published in June 2017, the report suggested several reforms to the system, including shortening the number of years that expats could claim the tax-relief from eight years to five. This was because research carried out by Dialogic found that the vast majority of expats making use of the benefit (80%) claimed it for fewer than five years; less than 10% actually claimed the benefit for the full eight years.

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Bitcoins – tulip mania?

BitcoinsThe later part of the 20th century saw its fair share of financial bubbles. There was the property bubble, stock market bubbles, and then the dot com bubble of 2000, just to name a few. In each instance, people paid exorbitant amounts for things that shouldn’t have been worth anything like the going price. But this is nothing new – look back at the Dutch in the 17th century when already pricey tulip bulbs experienced a twentyfold price explosion in just a single month.

By the peak of tulipmania in February 1637, a single tulip bulb was worth about ten times a craftsman’s annual income and a single Viceroy tulip bulb was allegedly exchanged for eight fat swine, twelve fat sheep or four tuns of beer.

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