Do I need to pay TAX?

antrobus

Randvegeta wrote: »

I said I was born British. I never said I was born in Britain. I was born overseas to a Britsh parent. What is so difficult to understand.

FYI, I hold dual nationality. The country of which I was born is the country of which both my parents reside and are domiciled.

British nationality law ain't that straightforward, but to say "I was born British" would generally mean that you were indeed "born in Britain" unless you qualified that statement by explaining the exact circumstances of your birth. We ain't psychic here you know, and FYI being "born overseas to a Britsh parent" doesn't automatically make you 'British'.

chrismac1

But it DOES make you non-domicile so long as your father is not British. To the OP, you have some ammunition here should HMRC ever write to you, in my view this is completely different from someone who is evading tax or even someone coming up with a convoluted scheme to avoid tax. I don't write the UK tax laws, but if I did I would tear up the whole domicile thing and chuck it in the bin, there are only a handful of countries which have it. And while I was at it I would set out the definition of a tax resident in statute law like most countries instead of leaving it up to tax cases like we do here.

This sort of rubbish is why the UK tax code is 4 times the length of Germany's. In this case the OPs position is best described as "unclear". Personally I love these "unclear" elements of the UK tax code - IR35 being another fine example - because it means you have an argument. The OP has a pretty strong argument for what he has done in my view, and if he did what the HMRC posters in this thread suggest doing he'd most likely bring a hornets nest down on his head, the letters would still be following him years after he's left the UK.

drlabman

Cook_County wrote: »

... doubtless HMRC will be visiting in a day or two to get this cleared up for once and all.

Whilst not condoning tax evasion, how do you suggest HMRC would go about locating the OP. Pray, do tell. And please don't mention IP address. Scaremonger much?

cinderfella

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/consult_condoc_statutory_residence.pdf

MacMickster

chrismac1 wrote: »

if he did what the HMRC posters in this thread suggest doing he'd most likely bring a hornets nest down on his head, the letters would still be following him years after he's left the UK.

Who are the HMRC posters, or are they anyone who disagrees with your advice?

In case you think that I am one of them, I am not, but I did once find the then Inland Revenue very helpful after I was given advice of the "give it a try" variety by an accountant which I was not happy with. Since then I have tried to familiarise myself with tax laws.

Some of the responses to the OP may have been coloured by reading some of his responses in other threads. To one poster who was told that he could not get a council tax discount on a property that he was not living in, the OP's response was "just say you are".

Like you, I think that the UK tax system is overly complicated, but some of the responsibility for this must lie with those who try to find ways to avoid tax using loopholes which clearly go against the intention of governments of whichever colour who implemented those laws.

Personally (and I realise that I am in a minority here) I believe that we are taxed at far too low a level in this country, and consequently get the public services (including HMRC) that we pay for. I also believe that it is the responsibility of every member of a civilised society to pay their dues, but I don't think that they should pay a penny more than their dues.

You make it clear that you have a personal gripe with the whole tax system. Nevertheless, most of your posts provide sound advice to those seeking it. This is a forum, however, where people with differing views will post opinions, and I don't think that it is helpful to assume that those who disagree with you are from HMRC.

The problem with a forum of this type is that those who come looking for help with their taxes may follow suggestions which cause them some discomfort down the line if they do come to the attention of HMRC. Surely you should welcome them hearing both sides of the debate.

Randvegeta

If you are born to British parents overseas, you are not necessarily British? Are you sure? I was British before I was anything else! I ONLY have a British passport....

As for my comments with regards to the Council TAX, that is out of context!

The OP had purchased a flat for the purpose of living it in by herself. If lived in, she would be entitled to a 25% discount for single occupancy. However, she was renovating it and therefore it was not in a liveable condition. Somehow that means she's NOT living in it and therefore must pay the FULL 100% TAX. Does that honestly make sense to anyone?

Beware would be home owners who want to renovate. If you were once receiving the 25% discount, prepare to lose it while you do your flat up.

I thought the whole purpose of council TAX was to pay for the local services like rubbish collection etc. If you don't live in it, surely there is LESS to look after. Why on earth do you have to pay more for it?

It's stupid!

Oh yes, so an unoccupied flat requires 100% TAX, yet a flat fully occupied by layabouts who claim off the state have no TAX to pay what so ever. What a stupid system!

cinderfella

http://www.middevon.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=164

12+ months non occupancy relief.

John_Pierpoint

cinderfella wrote: »

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/consult_condoc_statutory_residence.pdf

I don't know enough about the tax rules of OTHER COUNTRIES for tax residency to comment and the consultation paper must be written by "Little Englanders" as it is written in a vacuum: standing at Dover, looking at Calais and muttering "there be monsters".

What I do know is that these proposed rules are more of a burden than the rules in the 1970's, the last time the economy was up a creak without a paddle.
In those "socialist" or "corporatist" 3-day-week-days the rules actually encouraged British contractors to go out and get our money back from the OPEC countries.

This country is in a competitive race for resources, especially with the up and coming economies, we need a tax code that encourages the active owners of money to be based in the UK and discourages the free loaders.
With tax rates approaching 50% we are encouraging exactly the opposite situation - Greek style there is more money to be made sponging and avoiding or evading tax than there is to be made from an honest day's productive work.

Randvegeta

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

I don't know enough about the tax rules of OTHER COUNTRIES for tax residency to comment and the consultation paper must be written by "Little Englanders" as it is written in a vacuum: standing at Dover, looking at Calais and muttering "there be monsters".

What I do know is that these proposed rules are more of a burden than the rules in the 1970's, the last time the economy was up a creak without a paddle.
In those "socialist" or "corporatist" 3-day-week-days the rules actually encouraged British contractors to go out and get our money back from the OPEC countries.

This country is in a competitive race for resources, especially with the up and coming economies, we need a tax code that encourages the active owners of money to be based in the UK and discourages the free loaders.
With tax rates approaching 50% we are encouraging exactly the opposite situation - Greek style there is more money to be made sponging and avoiding or evading tax than there is to be made from an honest day's productive work.

Indeed! And when you say approaching, do you not mean, passed? If you are in the 40% TAX bracket, what happens when you include NIC payments? And if your're in the 50% bracket... it SHOULD be more...

I intend on setting up a new company very soon. I fully expect it's earnings to go much farther than my current hosting business. That being said, you can be sure it will be registered and operated in that wonderful TAX haven I call home.

If I have to add VAT to my goods I become less competitive (which I will for EU sales). No thank you!

antrobus

Randvegeta wrote: »

If you are born to British parents overseas, you are not necessarily British? Are you sure?

Reasonably sure. For example, you are presumably a 'British citizen by descent', so any of your children born outside the UK will not automatically become British citizens. You want to speak to a lawyer who knows about these sorts of things if this is important to you. It's never wise to rely too much on stuff you read on the interweb.

Randvegeta wrote: »

I was British before I was anything else! I ONLY have a British passport....

You shouldn't really be saying those sorts of things if you're going to claim that you're not domicilied in the UK.