News & Insights

Linking probate fees to the size of a person’s estate is effectively a tax on bereavement. Families with large estates in the UK will now have to start considering ways to reduce the size of their estate before they die. 

At the beginning of March 2017, a report titled “Brexit: Gibraltar” was published by the House of lords EU Select Committee. The purpose of the report was to make sure UK Government does not forget about Gibraltar during negotiations for an exit deal, ensuring its voice is heard.

The potential issues facing Gibraltar are felt to be so concerning that a debate on the report was held on March 21 in the House of Lords. The Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, attended the debate. At the session Baroness Goldie stated that the economic bonds between the UK and Gibraltar would be maintained and strengthened after Brexit, and Picardo said this was “deeply important” for Gibraltar.

There are many reasons why British nationals choose to move to the Netherlands. There’s the vibrant and friendly culture, great healthcare, and low crime and unemployment rates. All these factors may have something to do with recent findings which show Dutch happiness levels are very high compared to the rest of the world.

A recent report, researched and published by independent market research company Opinion Matters for HR provider ADP, titled “The Workforce View in Europe in 2017” looked at the opinions and views of nearly 10,000 workers across Europe.

Over the past year, I have come across many an expat, not just UK expats, but Dutch, Belgium and German who have said to me, ‘I am not doing the Modelo 720 as the EU has ruled it is illegal, and also the Spanish authorities will never find out if I don’t declare.’

A new study has highlighted the issue of the gap between women’s pension pots and those of men. The size of the difference? According to the research, by the end of her working life the average woman could potentially end up £47,000 worse off than men in terms of what’s in their pension pot.

The study, carried out by Zurich, looked at 250,000 pension plans, making it one of the largest studies of workplace savings. It looked at pension plans broken down by age, gender, and the contribution rate of employers and employees.

The process of sharing information across the planet has never been easier or simpler, thanks to constant upgrades and improvements being made in the field of information technology. These advancements have led to the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in the US, and the Common Reporting Standards (CRS) over on this side of the pond.

On March 8, Phillip Hammond delivered the Spring Budget 2017. Among those most affected by the changes – which included the self-employed – were those who wish to set up Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS). Here is a brief overview of how the Budget 2017 has affected QROPS and what it may mean for you.

For many years now, people with pension pots built up through schemes in the UK – either through an employer or their own personal savings – have had the ability, once retired, to transfer them from the UK for the opportunity to gain control of their own pot and receive more favourable tax treatment.