http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatn ... gners.html
The UK government is considering making people who live overseas (non-resident) and others paying capital gains on their properties. I'm sure there are wealthy guys in Thailand who this applies to.
Buying property in the UK
-
whitedesire
- Posts: 901
- Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 8:46 pm
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 14 times
-
Jun
Re: Buying property in the UK
This is potentially very unfair.
Firstly, Gordon Brown abolished CGT (Capital Gains Tax) inflation indexation a few years back, so you can now pay CGT even if merely keeping pace with inflation.
Or to put it another way, yo you pay CGT even though there is no capital gain..
Now imagine a homeowner who has to work abroad for 3 years. He returns to the UK and has to relocate in order to take a job in a new part of the country. So he sells his house and buys a similar one.
After years of money printing, house prices and the cost of living have risen by 20%, quite possible, looking ahead a few years. He could easily be taken for CGT on 20% of his property, plus have to pay stamp duty to move house. So he has to pay massive taxes just to keep the same standard of living.
That's not a capital gains tax, it's a tax creating a capital loss.
Now if they could restore inflation indexing, the idea might have some merit.
Also, is this topic in the wrong forum?
Firstly, Gordon Brown abolished CGT (Capital Gains Tax) inflation indexation a few years back, so you can now pay CGT even if merely keeping pace with inflation.
Or to put it another way, yo you pay CGT even though there is no capital gain..
Now imagine a homeowner who has to work abroad for 3 years. He returns to the UK and has to relocate in order to take a job in a new part of the country. So he sells his house and buys a similar one.
After years of money printing, house prices and the cost of living have risen by 20%, quite possible, looking ahead a few years. He could easily be taken for CGT on 20% of his property, plus have to pay stamp duty to move house. So he has to pay massive taxes just to keep the same standard of living.
That's not a capital gains tax, it's a tax creating a capital loss.
Now if they could restore inflation indexing, the idea might have some merit.
Also, is this topic in the wrong forum?
-
whitedesire
- Posts: 901
- Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 8:46 pm
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 14 times
Re: Buying property in the UK
I don't think it would work like that Jun, if the person came back to the UK, at some point, he would be resident again, so it probably wouldn't apply.
Yes, it is under the wrong "index", unless the person lived in Thailand and come back to England of course.
I was actually referring to people who lived in Thailand but it applies to any country actually.
Yes, it is under the wrong "index", unless the person lived in Thailand and come back to England of course.
I was actually referring to people who lived in Thailand but it applies to any country actually.
-
Gaybutton
- Posts: 23457
- Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
- Location: Thailand
- Has thanked: 3 times
- Been thanked: 1551 times
Re: Buying property in the UK
Not anymore. Nice try whitedesire, but a topic doesn't magically become a topic about Thailand simply by merely mentioning Thailand.Jun wrote:is this topic in the wrong forum?
-
Jun
Re: Buying property in the UK
If the government applies typical taxation principles, the tax would be payable for the years someone is abroad.whitedesire wrote:I don't think it would work like that Jun, if the person came back to the UK, at some point, he would be resident again, so it probably wouldn't apply.
So if you own a house for 10 years and spend 3 of them abroad, the capital gains tax would be payable for those 3 years. IE 3/10ths x capital gain x tax rate.
Otherwise, it would be easily avoided by someone returning to the UK for 6 months.