Expat and Capital Gains

voyagerbear

At the moment the consultations are in progress to decide on the rules for CGT to be paid by non-residents that sell their property after April 2015. I am an expat letting my only three bed semi . I have owned this house for a long time. Until the rules are published it is not clear how they will apply the tax. On some websites it suggests that they will probably set a base line using the value of the property in 2015 and if you sell after that the CGT will apply on the gain from then. From talking to people about it they say that it would be unfair and unlikely that they will apply the tax from when you purchased the property, say in 1990 until its sale past April 2015, because the gain is massive. Can anyone familiar with the tax system comment on the likely outcome of all this please. I do realise this is only opinion. Thanks:)

CLAPTON

voyagerbear wrote: »

At the moment the consultations are in progress to decide on the rules for CGT to be paid by non-residents that sell their property after April 2015. I am an expat letting my only three bed semi . I have owned this house for a long time. Until the rules are published it is not clear how they will apply the tax. On some websites it suggests that they will probably set a base line using the value of the property in 2015 and if you sell after that the CGT will apply on the gain from then. From talking to people about it they say that it would be unfair and unlikely that they will apply the tax from when you purchased the property, say in 1990 until its sale past April 2015, because the gain is massive. Can anyone familiar with the tax system comment on the likely outcome of all this please. I do realise this is only opinion. Thanks:)

if you are a person living in the UK then your capital gain would be based on 1990 when you bought it, so it would be 'fair' to apply the same criteria to foreigners / expats

but I've no idea what they will do.

zygurat789

CLAPTON wrote: »

if you are a person living in the UK then your capital gain would be based on 1990 when you bought it, so it would be 'fair' to apply the same criteria to foreigners / expats

but I've no idea what they will do.

But that would be retrospective legislation which used to be somewhere tax legislation did not go.

CLAPTON

zygurat789 wrote: »

But that would be retrospective legislation which used to be somewhere tax legislation did not go.

the rules on capital gains tax has been amended several times with retrospective effect e.g. indexation and taper relief were abolished

zygurat789

CLAPTON wrote: »

the rules on capital gains tax has been amended several times with retrospective effect e.g. indexation and taper relief were abolished

Indexation and taper relief were abolished from a date going forward that's not what is meant by retrospective.
If CGT for nondoms is introduced with a base date prior to introduction then a CGT liability has been accruing from that date about which the taxpayer can now do nothing, that would be retrospective.

CLAPTON

zygurat789 wrote: »

Indexation and taper relief were abolished from a date going forward that's not what is meant by retrospective.
If CGT for nondoms is introduced with a base date prior to introduction then a CGT liability has been accruing from that date about which the taxpayer can now do nothing, that would be retrospective.

taper relief/indexation was abolished on a forward basis at the time of sale but the calculation was retrospective so one didn't accrue the indexation /taper relief up to the change of legislation : it applied from the time of purchase

zygurat789

CLAPTON wrote: »

taper relief/indexation was abolished on a forward basis at the time of sale but the calculation was retrospective so one didn't accrue the indexation /taper relief up to the change of legislation : it applied from the time of purchase

But the rates were reduced and there was at least one other significant relief.

Like I said
retrospective legislation which used to be somewhere tax legislation did not go.
I think it was a labour trick which the tories condemned but we will have to wait and see what a coalition idea of fairness is