Lifetime Allowance changes and ‘Fixed Protection 2014
By Chris Burke
This article is published on: 18th March 2014
This year the Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are lowering the UK Pensions Lifetime Allowance amount. This is the maximum allowance the HMRC grant to each individual to hold as a UK pension without incurring any extra tax charges. Previously, UK residents receive tax relief on the contributions made into a pension up to £1.8 million in 2010/2011 before it was reduced to £1.5 million in 2012. The HMRC has changed this twice over the last 8 years bringing the allowance down each time, from £1.8 million in 2010/2011 to £1.5 million 2012. The government agency is enforcing a further reduction to £1.25 million this coming year.
Any amount above the lifetime allowance is liable to 55% taxation when withdrawn as a lump sum, or 25% taxation when withdrawn as a pension.
It is important that those affected by this change apply for ‘Fixed Protection’ before 6th April 2014. A successful application allows the pensioner to maintain their lifetime allowance of £1.5 million as opposed to a reduced £1.25 million commencing from 6th April 2014.
A successful application for Fixed Protection in essence allows a pensioner to withdraw savings worth up to £1.5 million without paying the lifetime allowance charge which will soon affect all pensioners with more than £1.25 million across their schemes.
Firstly note – you cannot apply for ‘fixed protection’ 2014 if you already have ‘primary’, ‘enhanced’ or ‘fixed’ protection.
Secondly, you will lose fixed protection 2014 if:
a) You join a new pension scheme – unless you’re transferring pension savings from one of your existing schemes into the new scheme.
b) You build up new benefits in a defined benefits or cash balance pension pot above a set amount – enquire for further details.
c) You start saving in a new pension pot either under an existing pension scheme or a new pension scheme.
d) You have a contribution paid to any of your money purchase pension pots.
Links:
Apply for Fixed Protection 2014 at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pensionschemes/fp14online.htm
Calculate if Lifetime Allowance affects you at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tools/lifetimeallowance/index.htm
The Spectrum IFA Group Expands in Tuscany, Italy
By Spectrum IFA
This article is published on: 12th March 2014
The Spectrum IFA Group are delighted to announce that Peter Francis has joined the Italian team in the Lucca area.
Peter has worked in Financial Services for 25 years covering all aspects of financial planning and investment advice. Initially working within a large bank brokerage and then moving on to advising expats in Cyprus, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
Commenting on this recent appointment, The Spectrum IFA Group’s manager in Italy, Gareth Horsfall comments that “ We are delighted to welcome Peter into the Italian team and his appointment high lights The Spectrum IFA Group’s commitment to extend our range of services and advisers in Italy and to provide expatriates with a wide range of specialist financial advice.
You can contact Peter directly here
Are you a Spanish tax-resident for tax purposes
By Chris Burke
This article is published on: 5th March 2014
If you are currently living in Spain, you would assume that you would also be a Spanish tax resident. That is not always the case. The underlining rule is that if you live more that 183 days of the calendar year in Spain then you are deemed to be tax resident also. Although this is usually the deciding factor there are exemptions to the rule. If the ‘centre of your interests’ is arguably in the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) could reason that you are responsible for tax there, not Spain.
Where is your ‘centre of interests’? Well, you could quite conceivably spend most of your time in Spain whilst still having a house in the UK, a business or job based in the UK, children in school in the UK and/or a spouse in the UK. If all these were the case then you would almost certainly be UK resident for tax purposes. You would also be liable to tax in Spain (in theory) if you spend more than 183 days here. In practice there is however a ‘double tax treaty’ in existence between the UK and Spain which ensures you do not have to pay tax twice as a result.
If you currently reside in Spain and the majority of your ‘centre’s of interest’ are (in Spain) then you will be deemed as a tax resident by the Hacienda (the Spanish tax authorities) and liable to pay taxes on your assets world-wide.
The Tour de Finance Forum 2014 – Italy
By Gareth Horsfall
This article is published on: 4th March 2014
The Tour de Finance 2014 is back, but this time I have given it a twist!.
Every year we bring a group of financial experts on the road in Italy to talk directly to expats about the financial considerations and concerns that they are facing.
In 2014 we are returning to Bagni di Lucca and Umbertide based on the interest shown and attendance in 2013.
We will be returning on the:
26TH MARCH 2014 Umbertide at Ristorante Pomarancio
27th MARCH 2014 Bagni di Lucca at La Cantina delle Pianacce
Start time: 10.30am for coffee and sweets until approx 1pm with a FREE buffet lunch, wine and an opportunity to meet your fellow expats.
(I would like to add that due to increased demand for our services, we are receiving requests from all over Italy and so we want to extend the Tour de Finance into other parts of the country. So we will not be returning to these same locations for at least 1 year as the Tour de Finance is planning to expand to others areas of Italy in the autumn 2014.)
BUT, this time the format will change!
We are doing away with the Powerpoint presentations and structured presentations!
After reflecting on your feedback from previous events, I have decided to change the format to a FORUM style event. I want to avoid presenting all the information that ‘we think you should know’ and actually try and deliver the information that you want to know. Typical questions that I often hear from people include:
- What are the likely implications of the recent implementation and then withdrawal of a 20% witholding tax on profit from investments held overseas, for Italian residents?
- Are there opportunities to reduce my Inheritance tax liabilities in Italy?
- What risk is there of losing all my money when I invest and how can I avoid this completely?
- Are there any tax allowances/credits available to me as a resident in Italy?
So I, Gareth Horsfall (Spectrum IFA group (Italy) will pose questions to the panel for approx 30 minutes, followed by a refreshment break and then a further 30 minutes for questions from the audience.
It really is an opportunity to put the experts ‘on the spot’
The Panel of experts will include:
- Judith Ruddock: Studio Del Gaizo Picchioni. Cross border tax specialists and commercialisti.
- Andrew Lawford: SEB Life International. He will be facing questions about tax efficient savings vehicles for Italy and ways to potentially reduce your Inheritance tax liabilties.
- Rob Walker: Jupiter Asset management, Private Clients. He will be free to take questions on world markets, from the current state of emerging markets to how to generate income from your money.
- Peter Loveday: Currencies Direct . He will be taking questions on how to save money on International currency transfers and how they work.
I hope you will register your attendance. And I hope that the FORUM event will avoid all the boredom of powerpoint presentations and make the morning much more interactive for you.
If you would like to register for this event then you can do so by sending your full contact details to
info@spectrum-ifa.com or call Gareth Horsfall on 0039 333 6492356.
French Trust Law
By Spectrum IFA
This article is published on: 3rd March 2014
As a financial adviser to the expatriate community, I am contacted by lots of people who have either already moved to France from another country, or are planning to do so. Amongst many other things, people are seeking advice as to how best to structure their financial assets for tax-efficiency in France. Since most of the people I advise originate from Anglo-Saxon countries, it may be the case that they may have an interest in a trust, which creates difficulties for them, due to the French tax treatment of trusts.
In 2011, France introduced legislation, which defined the taxation rules and reporting requirements, concerning trusts with at least one of the following:
- French resident settlor;
- French resident beneficiary; or
- French situated assets – even if the settlor/beneficiaries are not living in France.
Basically, the law is aimed at the ‘family type of trust’ and generally excludes trusts falling outside of this area. A summary of the taxation treatment is shown below.
Income tax relating to trusts
Distributions received from a trust (whether capital or income) are treated as investment income, in the hands of the taxpayer. Therefore, 100% of the amount received is added to other taxable income of the household and taxed according to the progressive rates of income tax set out in the barème scale, for which the highest rate is 45%. Social contributions (current rate 15.5%) are also chargeable on the amount distributed.
Wealth tax (ISF) relating to trusts
The law aims for transparency, so that the real ‘owner’ of the assets placed in a trust can be identified. This will either be the original settlor or where that person has died, the beneficiary is subsequently deemed to be the settlor.
The trustees are required to report the annual value of the assets of the trust and to pay a levy, based on the highest percentage rate of ISF (currently 1.5%) of the underlying value of the trust’s assets. However, the levy is not payable if the French resident taxpayer has already declared the trust assets for ISF. Failure to report by 15th June each will result in a fine of 12.5% of the value of the total trust assets or if greater, €20,000. The settlor and/or the beneficiaries are jointly and severally liable for the payment of the levy and for any penalty as a result of non-reporting.
Gift & succession duty regimes relating to trusts
Lifetime gifts and inheritance transfers from a trust with a French resident settlor or ‘beneficiary deemed settlor’, as well as to beneficiaries who have been resident in France for at least six out of the last ten years, are liable to taxation; so too is the transfer of assets into a trust. For non-resident settlors, the transfer of French assets into or out of a trust (for example, property) is also caught by the rules.
Using the market value of the assets, as at the date of transmission, the tax liability is as follows:
- For trusts set up after 11th May 2011, or for trusts set up in a jurisdiction that has not concluded a Tax Information Exchange Agreement with France (referred to as a “non-cooperative territory”), the tax rate is 60% in all cases.
- For existing trusts, which are set up in a “cooperative territory”, the rate of tax is as follows:
- if the relationship between the settlor and the beneficiary can be identified, the tax rate and allowance will be according to the standard IHT barème scale;
- if the beneficiaries are, globally, the descendants of the settlor, the tax rate will be the top rate for descendants in direct line, i.e. 45%; and
- anything else will be subject to a tax rate of 60%, unless covered by specific exemptions in the French tax code.
Overall, trusts do not work well in France and an alternative structure is needed to achieve the same objectives. Therefore, seeking professional advice from someone who understands both the Anglo-Saxon systems and the French system is essential.
The above outline is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute advice or a recommendation from The Spectrum IFA Group to take any particular action on the subject of investment of financial assets.
The Spectrum IFA Group Expands in Madrid, Spain
By Spectrum IFA
This article is published on: 3rd March 2014
The Spectrum IFA Group are delighted to announce that Conor MacSherry has joined Chris Webb in the Madrid office.
Conor has worked in Financial Services for 27 years covering all aspects of protection, mortgages, investment and retirement planning. Through many years of management roles covering sales, development, compliance and consultancy, Conor has always maintained his authorisation to deal with and look after his clients directly.
As well as being a fully qualified Financial Adviser, Conor holds a B.A. Degree in Business Studies, a Diploma in Management Studies and a Masters of Business Administration.
Commenting on this recent appointment, The Spectrum IFA Group’s Chairman Michael Lodhi explains that “The group has been expanding within Europe over the past few years and it is clear that our services are badly needed by the expatriate community. This recent appointment under pins The Spectrum Group’s commitment to extend our range of services and add further advisers in Europe to provide expatriates with professional financial advice”.
You can contact Conor directly here
Brandeaux February Update 2014
By Chris Burke
This article is published on: 25th February 2014
Brandeaux February Update 2014
Brandeaux Student Accommodation Fund (Sterling) Limited
Brandeaux Student Accommodation Fund (Multi Currency) Limited
Announcement
Further to the recent press speculation, the Brandeaux Student Accommodation Fund (Sterling) Limited and the Brandeaux Student Accommodation Fund (Multi Currency) Limited confirm that they are continuing to actively review various options with the aim of creating liquidity for their existing shareholders. The options being considered include a potential initial public offering of the assets of the Brandeaux Student Accommodation Fund (Sterling) Limited. The consideration of an initial public offering is at an early stage and there is no certainty at this time that this option will be pursued.
A further statement will be made as and when appropriate.
The above is an extract from Brandeaux on the February update of their suspended funds. In many cases we will be able to help you if you have money frozen in these funds, please contact one of our advisers to find out more
Written by: Chris Burke based in the Barcelona/Costa Brava area
If you are based in that area contact Chris at: chris.burke@spectrum-ifa.com
If you are in another area please complete the form below and we will put a local adviser in touch with you.
Investments can have too much structure
By John Hayward
This article is published on: 24th February 2014
What are structured products?
Structured products are usually set up as an investment of a lump sum in exchange for a return based on the performance of an underlying index such as the FTSE100. They are arranged as fixed term contracts of, normally, 5 to 6 years although some can pay out earlier under certain circumstances. They can be bought from a variety of sources and are particularly popular with banks.
Structured products could be suitable for someone who is willing to buy and hold, understanding that if markets fall sufficiently, then the return could be less than what was paid in. Some structured products offer capital guarantees. This ´promise´ of the return of your initial investment can be somewhat veiled in that the guarantee could be based on the particular underlying index not falling below, say, 50% of its starting level. For example, the initial investment is made and the FTSE100 and that point stands at 6000. 5 years later, the end of the contract, the FTSE100 is at 5700. In this case, the client would receive the full initial investment even though the index level has fallen. Some suggest that the FTSE100 falling by 50% is not likely thus selling the product as risk free. The FTSE100 certainly has fallen by more than 50% in the past (eg. 1999 to 2003).
The people offering any guarantee could be a third party. This is where we have another level of risk, known as counter-party risk. If the third party fails then the guarantee could be worthless.
Another risk is people wanting to access their money before the fixed term is up. The problem is that these products often have no secondary market which could mean you may not be able sell it without suffering a significant loss.
As with all types of investments, there are varieties on a theme, some suitable, some not, depending on one´s risk profile. Complete understanding is essential from the outset.
For more information on how we can protect your savings whilst offering low risk, liquid investments, contact one of our advisers.
Suspended – 20% tax on overseas transfers into Italy
By Gareth Horsfall
This article is published on: 20th February 2014
Suspended – 20% tax on overseas transfers into Italy
The witholding tax of 20% on overseas transfers into Italy has been suspended.
No sooner had the law regarding the 20% withholding tax on transfers from overseas been introduced, than it is suspended. Until July 2014.
The main isssue with the law was one of distinguishing between transfers from abroad that were ‘profit from investment’ and those that were income from other sources, such as pensions. And if you made an auto certificazione’ with your bank to state that you were not bringing money into the country, from profit on investment, then would you have to sign another auto cetificazione when you did? and what happens if you forgot but still declared the asset on your Unico’? These are just some of many questions which needed answering. In the end the law was just another example of very badly thought out policy which really should have been planned more carefully. (Interestingly I have just seen a report that the EU has not condemned the law but says that it needs more thought, essentially)
Athough, the more I think about the law itself, as a way to catch those who were not making accurate declarations, the more I admired it. But once again it came down to implementation and even the best laid ideas are doomed to failure without adequate planning and thought.
That all being said it now seems that, at least for the meantime, Italy will be resorting back to the, what now seems the almost historic, share of information agreements with co-operating countries.
As you may or may not know the EU has an open share of information agreement. Some UK rental property owners found this out to their chagrin in 2012 when the Guardia di Finanza went knocking on doors asking why rental income from a UK property (which interestingly was already being declared and tax being paid in the UK) was not being declared on the Italian tax return. Some of the fines which I heard of were astronomic.
Luxembourg and Jersey have now signed up to a free exchange of information on interest payments, in the EU, from 1st January 2015. Austria will likely follow as the 1st January 2015 marks the entry into force of the mandatory exchange of information agreement across Europe.
The Isle of Man and Guernsey have already agreed a full and open share of information agreement with the EU on income from interest and so the information on offshore bank account holders is fully reported.
And the USA has already entered into agreement with Italy under its FATCA law (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) which allows for a free exchange of information on resident individuals in either country. In fact there is a new acronym doing the rounds: GATCA. Global Account Tax Compliance Act.
One of the most interesting points about the Italian move to withhold 20% at source was that it was an open attack on profit from investment.. The share of information agreements, to date, have been mainly focused on interest from savings. Could this mean that the EU is about to enter the next phase of tracking down mis-reported incomes and/or gains from investment. Probably! The mandate has been clear since the implementation of the EU Savings Tax Directive that ultimately the EU will have an open information policy across all EU states on all incomes and profits from savings and investments. We may laugh at the inadequacies of the Italians to implement a law, which on the surface of it seemed ridiculous, but it would not surprise me to see this being the first of many steps throughout the EU to open the information exchange channels even further and to exchange information on almost every financial asset you can think of.
As I have said many times before, if you are a resident in Italy, now is the perfect time to be planning to stay ahead of the game. Many things can be done now to limit losses, limit potential fines, and plan efficiently for tax and it needn’t be painful or frightening.
If you have income and assets in Italy or overseas and want to know how to potentially reduce your tax liabilities and plan more effectively, whilst ensuring you are ‘in regola’, then you can contact me on gareth.horsfall@spectrum-ifa.com or call me on 3336492356
Swedish and living in France
By Tim Yates
This article is published on: 19th February 2014
“I wish I had known about this five years ago when I moved here!”
The subject of this quote from one of your compatriates was “Assurance Vie” (AV) but more of this later. If you attended our seminar at Villa Ingeborg at the beginning of November you will know all about it. If you are tax resident in Sweden and just have a holiday home here in France then it is largely irrelevant to you and you can stop reading now – unless of course you plan to move here permanently at some time in the future.
Many people are hesitant about spending too much time here, and therefore becoming tax resident (even if you would like to make this your home), because the perception is that the tax regime in France is punishing. This is a valid perception if you work here and your income is “earned” income because the social charges are high. However if you are retired and your income is derived from pensions and investments then you could be pleasantly surprised to find out that actually your tax and social charge liability is not as high as you thought it would be – particularly if you take advantage of the various tax efficient opportunities that exist here in terms of structuring your wealth.
If you live here and are tax resident here then AV is definitely something you should be aware of and be familiar with because it could save you a substantial amount of money.
If you have decided to live and work, or have decided to retire, here in France it probably means you are financially comfortable. That being the case you have probably commissioned your bank and/or a financial adviser in Sweden to manage your money in an investment portfolio. They are undoubtedly doing a good job for you (otherwise you wouldn’t still be using them) and they are investing your money wisely. You are holding a well diversified portfolio with exposure to equities, bonds and all the other asset classes. The problem you now have is that your adviser is now suggesting you sell something that has given you substantial capital growth. Whilst you have no need to take the money out of your portfolio to spend never the less if you follow their advice you will have a significant capital gains tax liability on the sale. You could have “wrapped” your investment portfolio in such a way that would have meant that you wouldn’t have had any tax liability until you decided to take the money out of the portfolio to spend it – and even then it would have benefitted from a lower rate of tax depending on how long it had been wrapped.
That seems too good to be true? – I hear you say – and what happens if the rules change. It is true that the French government could change the rules and it is rumoured that they will reduce the tax benefits of assurance vie (AV). However it is highly unlikely it will be retrospective and to understand why we need to look at when and why this all started. Back in the 1970’s most western European governments wanted to encourage families to take out life assurance to ensure that, on the death of the income earner, the family was not going to be a financial drain on the state. To do this they introduced a preferential tax regime for life assurance policies.
However they didn’t define life assurance quite as precisely as perhaps they intended. You have life assurance that is pure protection – i.e. you pay your premium each month but it has no value during your lifetime but will pay out a lump sum when you die to make sure your family are financially looked after on your death. You also have life assurance investment plans where the money you have put into them is always available to you during your lifetime but on death will pay out 101% of the value of your investment portfolio. This extra 1% means it qualifies as a life assurance policy and a preferential rate of tax is applied to the proceeds on death. This was clearly not the intention so why haven’t successive governments not closed this “loophole” where you have an investment portfolio masquerading as a life assurance policy? The simple reason is that politicians generally will not do anything to disadvantage themselves and their families even if this means compromising their ideological principles. There are 22 million AV policies in France and it is highly likely that all the members of our present government will have some of their capital wrapped in one.
There is another advantage of having your assets wrapped in an AV policy – unlike unwrapped assets they do not have to follow the French forced heirship rules. If you want to leave your estate to your spouse then you can if it is AV wrapped. Otherwise if you have one child they have to inherit half of your estate. With two children it is 2/3 and with three or more children it is 3/4 divided equally between them. This may not be a problem for you but whilst everything you leave to your spouse is tax free only the first €100,000 you leave to each of your children is free of tax. If you have re-married and have children from a previous marriage then it gets really complicated because anything your children from your previous marriage receive from a “step parent” is liable for 60% tax as there is no blood relationship between the two. With AV wrapped assets you are free to leave them to whoever you choose and the tax they pay (if it is not a spouse) is not determined by how closely related they are.
The bottom line is that investment management is only part of wealth management and that what you have done in Sweden, in terms of structuring your investments, to mitigate tax may not be as tax efficient in France. Clearly assurance vie is more complex than I have space to cover comprehensively in an article like this. However if it is a subject that is of interest to you please contact me and I am more than happy to detail how it could be relevant to your financial planning and remember that existing portfolios can be wrapped without you having to sell everything and then buy it back.