We are entering a new era for international tax planning. Financial privacy is no more. 2013 saw unprecedented support for global automatic exchange of information and a pivotal move to multilateral tax agreements. Now, in a concrete step forward, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has released the new global standard for the automatic exchange of financial information. It will apply from the end of next year.

No change on interest rate last week….The Bank of England stayed 0.5%, an all time low for 5 years. And, Mario Draghi held his nerve based on more positive consumer data from France, Spain and Germany.
Let’s hope the geo-political situation in the Crimea does not rein back the slow charge to improving economic climates….even the Euro got a chance to come back at Sterling………..CLICK HERE.

The three main principles for investing for growth are: time in the market; spread the risk and regular reviews. Last week I discussed how time in the market is usually more beneficial for individual investors than timing the market.

The consultation document entitled “Ensuring fair taxation of residential property transactions” was published in May 2013. As always whenever the UK Treasury or HMRC refer to “fair taxation” what they really mean is “considerably increased taxation”. The resulting draft legislation was published on 11th December outlining the new taxes and charges which will have to be paid by offshore companies which own property in the UK.

An investor’s portfolio should be built around their specific objectives.

If you are investing for growth, then we normally recommend three main principles...

A recent tax residency court case involving a couple living in Portugal and my recent article on the subject, A Tale of Two Leavers, have generated quite a bit of interest.  This is an important subject for British expatriates and worth visiting again.

If you want to stop paying income and capital gains taxes in the UK, you must ensure you are non-UK resident.  It is not enough to look at Portugal’s tax residency rules, you also need to understand the rules governing UK tax residency, follow them carefully each year and keep records if necessary.

The crackdown on tax fraud and offshore tax evasion remains very much a key issue in 2014.  Governments are working to detect and prevent tax evasion, and collect unpaid tax.  Their investment into new technology and skilled tax investigators is paying dividends.

Could UK interest rates rise this year? There has been speculation about the possibility since unemployment figures fell faster than expected.  However the Bank of England responded by saying that rates will remain “well below historic norms” in the medium term.

The Bank of England (BoE) base rate has been held at 0.5% for 58 months now, benefiting borrowers but harming savers.