Gordon Brown...
Discussion
simpo two said:
...appears to be heading for a £10bn hole in his plans.
Seems he will have to increase taxes or cut spending.
I wonder how 'Mr Prudent' will get out of that with his arse intact?
If you don't know your history (well, UK politics / economics anyway), have a look and you'll see that this is a labour speciality. They always end up like this.
Tax will rise and the motorist is bound to be hit the worse and anyone who has a house and is in a PAYE job to pay for the public sector (IT project waste included), subsidies to the private railways, benefit claimants and so on.
The real hit will of course be reserved for after the election if, God forbid, they get in again. The usual.
'The Bahamas has no income tax, no corporate income tax, no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax, and no value-added tax.'
www.thebahamasguide.com/society/index.html
So if they can do it...?
www.thebahamasguide.com/society/index.html
So if they can do it...?
No doubt you were TIC, as clearly it's not a perfect circle - the money has to come from somewhere:
"The absence of income, corporate, and inheritance taxes means that import duties are the main source of revenue for the government. As a result, tariff rates are very high; the Bahamas raises some 65 percent of its revenues from import tariffs."
Nevertheless, if you have most of what you need, it sounds a tempting option for any prospective ex-pats. Not much in the way of decent roads though I suspect..
"The absence of income, corporate, and inheritance taxes means that import duties are the main source of revenue for the government. As a result, tariff rates are very high; the Bahamas raises some 65 percent of its revenues from import tariffs."
Nevertheless, if you have most of what you need, it sounds a tempting option for any prospective ex-pats. Not much in the way of decent roads though I suspect..
simpo two said:
Oh I know - the unasked question is how high he can put taxes before people start rioting.
Very, very high. The Middle Classes simply do not riot. We don't do it. We get in line and queue like good little communists mostly. And do you think Labour will put up the bottom rate of tax? I think not. Nope the 40% tax bracket will just get lowered a little by inflation and perhaps go up to, say, 45%.
stumartin said:
No doubt you were TIC, as clearly it's not a perfect circle - the money has to come from somewhere:
"The absence of income, corporate, and inheritance taxes means that import duties are the main source of revenue for the government. As a result, tariff rates are very high; the Bahamas raises some 65 percent of its revenues from import tariffs."
Nevertheless, if you have most of what you need, it sounds a tempting option for any prospective ex-pats. Not much in the way of decent roads though I suspect..
Hmm so a limited company based in the bahamas, trading here, wouldn't pay tax on the profits?
Or is this far too obvious and barred for some reason by the taxman?
The Lemming - yes, far too obvious and well and truly blocked by the Inland Revenue.
Think about it - you register a limited company in a tax haven. The company does all its work in the UK - registers for UK VAT etc. All the money the company makes is banked into the company's offshore bank account. In the meantime, you, as the individual running the country, need to get your hands on the money sitting in the company bank account so you can actually live. Do you propose jetting to the tax haven every other day to pick up your cash? How do you propose getting the money into the UK and escaping personal tax on it. After all, you are still a UK tax resident for Income Tax purposes.
As it happens, merely registering a company offshore may not be good enough for the company itself to escape UK Corporation Tax anyway.
Think about it - you register a limited company in a tax haven. The company does all its work in the UK - registers for UK VAT etc. All the money the company makes is banked into the company's offshore bank account. In the meantime, you, as the individual running the country, need to get your hands on the money sitting in the company bank account so you can actually live. Do you propose jetting to the tax haven every other day to pick up your cash? How do you propose getting the money into the UK and escaping personal tax on it. After all, you are still a UK tax resident for Income Tax purposes.
As it happens, merely registering a company offshore may not be good enough for the company itself to escape UK Corporation Tax anyway.
If you (as an individual) are resident for tax purposes in the UK - you are liable to UK income tax on your WORLDWIDE income. If you draw salary or dividends from a non-UK company, YOU will be taxed personally in the UK on that income. It doesn't matter how many non-UK bank accounts the money passes through before it arrives in your pocket.
Obviously, if you laying a complicated money trail to try and hoodwink the British tax man - that is fraud and a criminal offence.
Obviously, if you laying a complicated money trail to try and hoodwink the British tax man - that is fraud and a criminal offence.
Joint residency = taxed in BOTHcountries 
Tax residency in the UK is a question of fact - not a question of opinion or desire. If you spend more than 60 continuous days in the UK you are resident in the UK for tax purposes. Other countries have different time limits for tax residency status. You can (and some people do) end up being taxed in both countries on the same income. To prevent this obvious unfairness, most countries have Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) which allows the tax paid on the income in one country to be deducted from the tax payable in the other.
Before you buy property or "move" to ANY country, you should always check its tax residency rules and whether it has a working, current DTA with the UK.
Tax residency in the UK is a question of fact - not a question of opinion or desire. If you spend more than 60 continuous days in the UK you are resident in the UK for tax purposes. Other countries have different time limits for tax residency status. You can (and some people do) end up being taxed in both countries on the same income. To prevent this obvious unfairness, most countries have Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) which allows the tax paid on the income in one country to be deducted from the tax payable in the other.
Before you buy property or "move" to ANY country, you should always check its tax residency rules and whether it has a working, current DTA with the UK.
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