“Quick” divorces – new legislation in Italy

From April 6th this year, individuals who do not spend sufficient time in the UK, or have insufficient ties with the UK to be resident there for tax purposes but who nonetheless own a home in the UK, may now need to pay capital gains tax (CGT) on any gains arising on the eventual sale of the property. 

How will the tax work?

Only gains made from 6th April 2015 are taxable in calculating the gain on the property disposal i.e. non-UK resident property owners will substitute the value of the property as at 6th April 2015 for its actual acquisition cost, thereby rebasing the value to its market value as at that date. Alternatively, property owners may elect to calculate the gain by using the actual acquisition cost but paying tax only on the time-apportioned post-5th April 2015 part of the gain.

If the non-resident usually files a UK self assessment tax return any gain must be included in the appropriate year’s return, otherwise any tax must be paid within 30 days of completion.  Non-residents will continue to be exempt from CGT on disposals of commercial property and other assets.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) limitations in relation to scams and mis-sold products have been brought into the spotlight in recent months, with a number of high-profile scandals.

For example, last year nearly 12,000 London Capital & Finance (LCF) investors lost approximately £237m (€277.8m) as a result of investing in mis-sold speculative mini-bonds.* This is because they weren’t aware of how to spot a scam.

A clearly frustrated LCF bondholder told press that it should be an imperative for HM Treasury and the government to take steps to clarify and strengthen the law in relation to liability. The LCF bondholder also called on government ministers to ensure better regulation of online ads, to make avoiding scams easier for victims.