Press Release Summary = Many of us foster a dream of owning a property abroad, yet so few of us relish the prospect of paying a large amount of tax to make our dreams into a reality.
Press Release Body = Many of us foster a dream of owning a property abroad, yet so few of us relish the prospect of paying a large amount of tax to make our dreams into a reality.
However, Gordon Brown may have done overseas property investors a big favour in his most recent Budget, with the revelation that UK tax will be ended on property bought through a company. This method of purchase, which many Britons may find to be preferable, will no longer be subject to the benefit-in-kind tax - which experts have hailed as good news for investors.
Under the current system, Britons can purchase a property as a director owning shares in the home in order to circumnavigate local inheritance tax laws, as the shares can be passed on to offspring after death. However, an annual tax has been applicable in the UK, which is now set to be scrapped from 2008.
Martin Sadler, Assetz International sales manager, explained: \"In France for example, many British people buy property through an SCI [Societe Civile Immobiliere], which enables them to avoid French inheritance laws forcing the property to be sold upon death and divided between offspring.\"
He added that people who have already bought houses will find that they can retrospectively claim back money from the Inland Revenue - a move sure to raise the popularity of purchasing a property overseas.
Find.co.uk, a financial services expert, recently claimed that purchasing a property through a company has other tax-break benefits, including paying less on rental incomes and the avoidance of capital gains tax and stamp duty.
Inheritance tax, which caused many Britons to fall foul of benefit-in-kind tax, has long been one of the more reviled and resented forms of taxation - after a lifetime of hard work many view it as unfair that the government should get their hands on a share of what they choose to leave behind. Last month, IFA Promotion claimed that poor financial planning was leading Britons to pay a collective £1.5 billion more than was necessary in this tax.
Indeed, inheritance tax was seen as the second most resented tax among respondents to a survey by the company, coming second to council tax.
David Elms, chief executive of Unbiased.co.uk, commented: \"Without advanced tax planning, increasing amounts of inheritance tax will fall into the hands of the tax man.\"
2025
