Buying commodities as a sole trader business investment??

jimmyhillsfanclub

Hi,

Possibly a Q for the accountants or tax advisers amongst you....

..I have my own sole trader business (Engineering based business)

Is it viable for me to buy commodities (Gold, Oil etc.) as a business investment with a view to selling them at profit in a year or two?

In theory, its exactly what I do with some products now....I sometimes purchase stock & hold it until I can sell it the price I require....

Can i do the same with gold bars for example? I know they are VAT exempt but can I put the purchase cost through my business (just like buying stock).

Obviously, when I eventually sell, those sales (and profits) would go through my business too...

...but in the meantime if the purchase is in 2012/13 & the sale is in 2013/14 for example, would this be classed as tax efficiency or tax avoidance?

Any help welcome.
Thanks,
JHFC.

somethingcorporate

Buying and selling in different years is not tax efficiency or tax avoidance - it is merely trading - unless I have misunderstood.

You can buy and sell gold in the same way that you can buy and sell anything.

It's only worth doing if you think that the price will rise and gold has been on quite a trajectory that is likely to come down in the near future.