HMRC receives favourable ruling on overseas tax exiles
The UK government has today received a favourable ruling from the Court of Appeal regarding tax liabilities for a businessman who has lived in the Seychelles since 1976. The judges ruled that the gentleman in question, Robert Gaines -Cooper, had never really cut his ties with the UK and was therefore never exempt from UK taxes. This comes despite the fact he had abided by government rules regarding spending no more than 91 days in the UK in any one year.
We are seeing more and more retrospective rulings regarding taxation and this particular case could land the businessman in question with a tax bill of around £30 million for the period 1993 to 2004. It would appear that the fact he retained property in the UK and other personal assets may, in the eyes of the judges, have prevented him from effectively cutting his ties with the UK.
This ruling could potentially open the door to tens if not hundreds of millions of pounds of back taxes for thousands of expats now living overseas. It seems that the power and influence of the UK government and especially HMRC knows no bounds and those who once believed they were exempt from UK taxation could soon find out otherwise!
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