Where in the world to live? (Fun, Luxury, Tax)

strawb_shortcake

Wasn't Barbados encouraging people to move their to WFH? 

A cousin of mine took early retirement, rented his home here out and spent 8 months travelling Europe then 4 over winter in the southern hemisphere. 
Covid and Brexit inhibited their plans to a degree but they are back travelling at their usual frequency now. 
Due to Covid they did end up buying a second home in the UK but now this just adds additional income. 

I'm not entirely sure how they fund their lifestyle but it looks amazing 

TripleH

Where is your income base?

You could be based in your own little island Fort but if you do trade above a certain level you might need to register for VAT in that country.

Beware that tax rules change all the time so whilst 1 country may seem a good idea, in a year it might not be. Check also tax and residency laws in countries you wish to move to as well

nigelbb

Jeremy535897 said:

The danger of having a UK base is that it can be available accommodation if you have a void period, which can impact on your residence status.

If the other country has a Double Taxation Treaty with the UK then the residency tests in the DTT will trump HMRC's Statutory Residence Test so having a property in the UK will be irrelevant.

Jeremy535897

nigelbb said:

Jeremy535897 said:

The danger of having a UK base is that it can be available accommodation if you have a void period, which can impact on your residence status.

If the other country has a Double Taxation Treaty with the UK then the residency tests in the DTT will trump HMRC's Statutory Residence Test so having a property in the UK will be irrelevant.

By no means a certainty. See for example section 1M(4) TCGA 1992:
"(4)Nothing in any double taxation arrangements prevents a charge to capital gains tax arising as a result of this section."

nigelbb

macman said:

Do you have any ancestry by which you could claim an EU passport. For Brits, many have Irish ancestry, or maybe Italian?
Failing that, base yourself in Eire (or N. Ireland ) for 2 years and then you will qualify for citizenship in the Republic. And pay less corporation tax.
You can then live wherever you want in the EU and enjoy the better weather.

You need to have five years of residence within the previous nine years before you are eligible to apply for citizenship in the Republic of Ireland.

nigelbb

Jeremy535897 said:

nigelbb said:

Jeremy535897 said:

The danger of having a UK base is that it can be available accommodation if you have a void period, which can impact on your residence status.

If the other country has a Double Taxation Treaty with the UK then the residency tests in the DTT will trump HMRC's Statutory Residence Test so having a property in the UK will be irrelevant.

By no means a certainty. See for example section 1M(4) TCGA 1992:
"(4)Nothing in any double taxation arrangements prevents a charge to capital gains tax arising as a result of this section."

I was referring to residency & the DTT does trump the SRT. Googling your example I find it is a reference to CGT on gains made by someone temporarily non-resident so not really applicable to someone who is treaty resident.

Jeremy535897

I was merely pointing out that you cannot assume that the double tax agreement is always the last word. It depends on the situation. There are also agreements that don't help if you are technically resident in the UK as well as the other country, and are relying on the tie breaker.

nigelbb

Jeremy535897 said:

I was merely pointing out that you cannot assume that the double tax agreement is always the last word. It depends on the situation. There are also agreements that don't help if you are technically resident in the UK as well as the other country, and are relying on the tie breaker.

I specifically mentioned tax residence. Most all of the DTTs use the OECD template so the Article 4 residence tiebreakers will be the same for all of them. These tiebreakers will trump HMRC's SRT & whatever definition the other state uses to decide on tax residence.

macman

nigelbb said:

macman said:

Do you have any ancestry by which you could claim an EU passport. For Brits, many have Irish ancestry, or maybe Italian?
Failing that, base yourself in Eire (or N. Ireland ) for 2 years and then you will qualify for citizenship in the Republic. And pay less corporation tax.
You can then live wherever you want in the EU and enjoy the better weather.

You need to have five years of residence within the previous nine years before you are eligible to apply for citizenship in the Republic of Ireland.

We are both wrong. It's 3 years out of the last 5. North or south of the border.

nigelbb

macman said:

nigelbb said:

macman said:

Do you have any ancestry by which you could claim an EU passport. For Brits, many have Irish ancestry, or maybe Italian?
Failing that, base yourself in Eire (or N. Ireland ) for 2 years and then you will qualify for citizenship in the Republic. And pay less corporation tax.
You can then live wherever you want in the EU and enjoy the better weather.

You need to have five years of residence within the previous nine years before you are eligible to apply for citizenship in the Republic of Ireland.

We are both wrong. It's 3 years out of the last 5. North or south of the border.

No. As I stated it's 5 years out of the last 9 years. Perhaps you will believe the Irish government?

"You must prove that you have been legally resident in the State for at least 5 years out of the last 9 years. This includes 1 year of continuous residence immediately before the date you apply."

https://www.irishimmigration.ie/how-to-become-a-citizen/become-an-irish-citizen-by-naturalisation/