15th of September is Pension Awareness Day, and so in an attempt to increase that awareness, we turn the spotlight on a subject that we all require at some point in our lives. Soteria Trusts discusses expat retirement planning, and more specifically, looks at the 3 pillars that are considered fundamental to the implementation of…
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The UK government has declared that HMRC will be looking very closely at British citizens who ostensibly live abroad. The case of Mr Gaines-Cooper unveiled the fact that HMRC is looking carefully at individuals to see where they have centred their life. In this case, Mr Gaines-Cooper purported to be living in Seychelles and visiting…
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Taxation rules around expatriates’ worldwide assets can sometimes be confusing. Being unaware of the tax implications of your domicile status, especially as a UK national and a foreign national with UK-sited assets, can cost you high tax rates. Not acting on that can lead to your family or beneficiaries suddenly having to pay large sums…
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Your tax residence status and domicile status affect the extent to which you are liable to tax. There is a difference between your country of domicile and your residence, especially if you are an expat. Many expats go through life not knowing what domicile is, or they assume that they are domiciled in the place…
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A Retirement Annuity Contract (RAC) is a type of defined contribution pension scheme, used as a method of saving money which will then be used to provide you with income in retirement. In return for your contribution or investment amount, you can take income in the form of regular payments from the contract or you…
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The short answer to “What is the difference between pension trusts and contract-based pensions” is that a Trust Pension is established by a settlor, and the assets within are set up in trust, whereas a Contract Pension involves an individual contract between an employee, or an individual and a pension provider. In both cases, the…
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Guernsey has one of the most modern regulatory regimes that conform to international finance and pension standards. In 2001 and 2017, Guernsey became one of the first jurisdictions in the world to regulate pension providers and rules. These and other regulatory and taxation rules make Guernsey a jurisdiction that is a safe place to keep…
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There comes the point in life when we all start to wonder about retirement. Not only do we ponder about how wonderful life will be, how many places we can visit, and things we will finally have time to do, but more importantly, we contemplate whether we will be able to afford the lifestyle we…
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Stamp Duty Land Tax is a big part of the property buying process in the United Kingdom. It is a tax that every homebuyer or commercial property buyer has to pay, and the amount is usually a significant expenditure. Besides having to follow the SDLT rates, the amount you pay when you purchase a property…
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This article presents the history of Stamp Duty Land Tax and how this property tax changed over the years in the United Kingdom. Stamp Duty was first introduced in England in 1694 to help fund the war with France. It originally imposed tax duties on a range of legal documents, such as cheques, property and…
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