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Income tax rise for British expats

The news adds further anxiety at an uncertain time for British expats following Britain’s decision to leave the EU.

Prime Minister Theresa May has recently attempted to create an amnesty deal for British expats living in EU countries whereby all EU migrants living in the UK (of which there are 3.3 million) would be able to remain here as long as British expats (1.2million) were able to stay in their respective countries. The deal was blocked by Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, and Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council.

Tusk’s response, which seemed to be an attack on the whole Brexit decision, was to state that the matter could only be resolved once Article 50 had been started. He added that “the decision about triggering Article 50 belongs only to the UK, which we fully respect”.

Mrs. Merkel voiced a similar stance, rejecting the Prime Minister’s attempts to instigate any kind of deal for expats before the formal commencing of Article 50.

It would appear, as Donald Tusk mentioned, that the quicker Article 50 is invoked, the quicker this time of worry will be resolved.

At such an unnerving time, professional wealth management advice has never been more valuable.

To stay up-to-date with all the current changes to QROPS and how British expats are being affected by Brexit, as well as to receive expert financial advice on your situation, contact the Blacktower team 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.

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QROPS pensions transfer rules debate

A survey by Old Mutual Wealth has found that 38% of international financial asset management professionals would like a review of the new QROPS pension transfer scheme rules. Only 20% said they were happy with the new rules, while 40% described themselves as “unsure”.

As part of rules introduced in April 2015 those undertaking QROPS pension transfers should receive independent and impartial advice from a professional appropriately authorised by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

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RTC Deadline Looms

Clocks and TimepiecesTime is fast approaching for UK taxpayers and expats with UK tax obligations to ensure they meet the 30 September 2018 deadline laid down by HMRC for the declaration of all UK tax liabilities on overseas income and assets that fall under the auspices of the Requirement to Correct (RTC) legislation, Finance (No 2) Act 2017.

Non-compliance, even if it is inadvertent, has the potential to be met with uncompromising penalties, so anyone who is any doubt about their tax obligations regarding offshore investments – if you have expat regular savings or wealth management concerns outside of the UK – should contact their financial adviser immediately as a matter of urgency.

The penalty for most breaches is 200% of the tax that has been avoided. However this may be reduced to 100% depending on the taxpayer’s perceived level of compliance. That said, the minimum is 150% in cases where disclosure has been prompted by HMRC. Larger non-disclosures may be punished by further penalty of 10%

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