News & Insights

In light of the Panama Papers and their revelations, it would appear that it is not only tax evasion is in the headlines but also tax avoidance schemes. Evading tax by concealing income is illegal, avoiding tax by exploiting the tax rules technically is not.

To help tax authorities in various countries hunt out those individuals and companies trying to hide assets, the UK has recently signed a disclosure of asset agreement with Spain, Germany, France and Italy. What does this mean? It means that the UK, in partnership with France, Germany, Spain and Italy, have passed regulations that will lead to the automatic sharing of information about the true owners of companies, complex shell companies and overseas trusts.

There are around 4.5 million British people living the expatriate life, and with 1.3 million of these currently residing in the EU, it is easy to understand why there is mounting political pressure for the government to give them full voting rights in the upcoming referendum on the future of British involvement in Europe. After all, they have so much at stake, from their residency and tax status to the future of their expat financial services arrangements.

At the moment, politicians across the world – especially, it seems, in the UK – are in the spotlight regarding their tax affairs. Banks, however, will also soon be in the spotlight, as by Friday 15th April they have been told to hand any information regarding their dealings with the law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers over to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.

As a result, pressure is growing on the City watchdog to launch a full-blown investigation into these explosive claims.

It has already become clear that nearly all of the major banks are involved to some degree, with a few well known Banks such as HSBC, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Coutts and Rothschild’s standing out more than others.

It has been revealed that Harvey McGregor, the lawyer who innovated Grand Cayman as a tax planning centre for high net worth individuals, inspiring the growth of the financial services community in the Caribbean islands, has left an estate worth £1.4 million to his long-term partner.

McGregor had such a profound impact on the Cayman Islands wealth management sector that it is now home to the world’s fifth largest banking sector while also at the forefront of the expat financial services industry; with both Blacktower and Rothschilds having offices in the British Overseas Territory. It is also ranked as the world’s second leading tax planning destination, behind only Luxembourg and, in testament to the work of McGregor, has the highest standard of living in all of the Caribbean.

As we all know we have been told time and time again that, because of the world´s economic state, we all have to pay as much tax to the governments as humanly possible and that, if we try to hide any money, we will be heavily penalised. Well, yet again it has been proved that there is one rule for us and another rule for them – by them I mean the 1% that are super wealthy, politicians, or large corporations. 

Governments, tax authorities, journalists and experts on tax evasion and avoidance on Monday were digesting news of a major leak of confidential and reportedly revealing documents from a Panamanian law firm. Some are calling it the biggest leak of confidential information ever to hit the global financial services industry.

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.

As the baby boomers hit pensionable age, the issue of pensions has become more important politically than ever before. This is a fact which has been reflected in the raft of changes that have been made by both the current and the previous government over the past few years. Baby boomers could be forgiven for feeling a little confused by it all and even retired expats with considerable regular savings are no different; pensions and pensions rules affect all.

Whoever you are, wherever you have settled in Europe and whatever the nature of your pension scheme – final salary or defined contribution – it is essential that you get advice regarding both your expat regular savings and your pension scheme; it can mean the difference between uncertainty and security.