Jon Stow Consulting – Tax Solutions

Following the Coalition’s decision not to abolish the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) tax category with all its advantages over the letting of investment property, we now know what the Government does intend for the future.

Donegal cottage

The regime for FHL is not going to be quite as generous as it was in the past, but we should be thankful that it is not going to be axed altogether. The previous qualifications for a letting to be an FHL were:

• the property should be available for holiday … Continue Reading
  

We are starting to hear a little more about the new tax amnesty in the UK, called by HM Revenue & Customs the “New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO),” which follows on from the 2007 amnesty. Now we know that since the original amnesty, which followed on from HMRC’s victory in the Courts over the UK banks defending unsuccessfully their Channel Island branch customers, HMRC has come by a lot more information. Indeed I can infer from what I have heard on the grapevine that the acquisition of information concerning the Lichtenstein accounts has borne fruit, and will continue to … Continue Reading

I do not normally use the HMRC online software to do Tax Returns as third party is much less hassle. However, I did have occasion to try it recently and found that in dealing with lettings where there is a loss in the year and a loss brought forward the HMRC system is unable to aggregate them and carry them forward. When I telephoned the helpline and finally got through I was told it was a known issue and I should make a diary note of losses brought forward for 2008-09. I would have thought that this loss … Continue Reading

Whilst on the subject of Hamlet’s father’s ghost, in my post “As ye sow” on 13th of this month, I mentioned the spectre of income shifting legislation and was worried that it might be sneaked in whilst we were looking at the drastic measures being introduced to save the country from ruin. No, it’s not funny.In the PBR we were told:”The Government firmly believes it is unfair to allow a minority of individuals to benefit financially from shifting part of their income to someone else who is subject to a lower rate of tax, known as … Continue Reading

Most people probably have only a vague understanding of the meaning of the word “domicile” and even fewer realise that it is a distinct legal concept, and one which may affect a number of people considerably in determining the amount of tax they pay.So, what is domicile? Domicile is essentially a legal concept which is also recognised in those countries who have inherited their legal system from Britain, and that includes the USA in this case. It is something everyone has, that one is born with, and is hard to change. Domicile is … Continue Reading