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Help with International Share Dealing - JSE
lazy&indebt
Posts: 597 Forumite
I am to be awarded some shares in my employer's parent company who are listed on the JSE. They have asked that I open a share dealing account and send them the relevant details. I am a complete newbie when it comes to investments and I really am not sure where to start. The only platform I can find that I know can trade on the JSE is AJ Bell who say they will charge me £29.95 plus 1% FX fee. Is this the best way to go?
The shares have been awarded to me at a fixed price and I have to pay my employer for 50% of them. The shares are worth about 4 times what I will pay for them at their current value. My intention is to sell them immediately - I am not really interested in holding on to them or getting in to investing in the stock market at this time.
I also don't understand the tax element. My employer says I will need to pay income tax and NI but when I called HMRC they said I would not (not capital gains as the value falls below that threshold) it is now my understanding that I do pay income tax/NI on the amount I purchase the shares for and not the amount that I sell them for. Is this correct?
And also - will I have to pay stamp duty??
Thank you.
The shares have been awarded to me at a fixed price and I have to pay my employer for 50% of them. The shares are worth about 4 times what I will pay for them at their current value. My intention is to sell them immediately - I am not really interested in holding on to them or getting in to investing in the stock market at this time.
I also don't understand the tax element. My employer says I will need to pay income tax and NI but when I called HMRC they said I would not (not capital gains as the value falls below that threshold) it is now my understanding that I do pay income tax/NI on the amount I purchase the shares for and not the amount that I sell them for. Is this correct?
And also - will I have to pay stamp duty??
Thank you.
Was debt free... then went travelling!
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Comments
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Reasonable action. Your financial well-being is already tightly tied to your employer. Holding their (parent company's) stock would only increase your risks here.lazy&indebt wrote: »The shares have been awarded to me at a fixed price and I have to pay my employer for 50% of them. The shares are worth about 4 times what I will pay for them at their current value. My intention is to sell them immediately - I am not really interested in holding on to them or getting in to investing in the stock market at this time.
What normally happens is that your employer taxes you, and applies NI, through normal payroll and based on the value of the benefit when you receive it (less anything you have contribute yourself). This is your 'cost basis' in these shares, and if done by your employer all comes out 'in the wash' with annual P60, P11D, or P45.lazy&indebt wrote: »I also don't understand the tax element. My employer says I will need to pay income tax and NI but when I called HMRC they said I would not (not capital gains as the value falls below that threshold) it is now my understanding that I do pay income tax/NI on the amount I purchase the shares for and not the amount that I sell them for. Is this correct?
When you sell later on, if the shares have gone up since then you have a capital gain; if they have dropped, a capital loss. The gain or loss is the difference between whatever number you were taxed on above (plus anything you had to contribute yourself) and your sale proceeds. Because you don't plan to keep them for any length of time, probably just a few days, the capital gain/loss is likely to be tiny. Your dealing costs are deductible from your gain (or, extend your loss).
If you sell more in total than £45,200 in capital assets (2017-18 figure) you would need to complete a capital gains part of self-assessment, but no actual capital gains tax to pay unless your capital gain exceeds £11,300.
The UK's 0.5% stamp duty is only for buying UK shares. Ireland has 1%, so worse. I don't think the JSE has any stamp duty.lazy&indebt wrote: »And also - will I have to pay stamp duty?
Also, no ideas on the best UK broker to use for access to the JSE. Sorry.0
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