News Archive: tax
09, 2012 February:
New French property tax laws are pushing wealthy buyers away from the traditional Riviera resorts and into Monaco say local agency and accountancy experts.
25, 2012 January:
The Greek government published a list of the country’s worst tax evaders on Sunday, after months of warning those same evaders to pay up or risk being named and shamed.
23, 2012 January:
Business secretary Vince Cable is continuing to press for a mansion tax on homes worth over £2m in this year's budget, according to reports over the weekend.
19, 2012 January:
A series of countrywide meetings is being planned by opponents of the new €100 household tax as they step up their campaign in the coming weeks.
12, 2012 January:
At least 10,000 British emigrants are receiving sickness benefits of up to £94 a week while living abroad, according to figures published yesterday.
11, 2012 January:
An investigative report in The Miami Herald newspaper this week has reported that Florida, which currently accounts for a third of all the “foreign-backed property transactions” in the USA and is the country’s “number one state for international residential real estate sales,” is losing out on large of amounts of property tax revenues as deals increasingly go through in cash and the buyers concerned register themselves offshore.
10, 2012 January:
Spain's property market will not grow in 2012, the Fitch ratings agency has predicted. The country's GDP growth is forecast at zero per cent, with Fitch adding that any growth will be limited to the long term, but agents are confident that the country's continuing debt crisis remains good news for investors.
19, 2011 December:
With only three months of the stamp duty ‘tax holiday' remaining, first time buyers must act quickly to avoid paying Stamp Duty Land Tax on their home purchase, the National Association of Estate Agents has warned.
16, 2011 December:
One thing is guaranteed if you spend Christmas in Spain - it is going to be considerably cheaper for Mum and Dad than it would be in the UK.
14, 2011 December:
Property developers in Iskandar, in Malaysia, have reacted positively to the news last week that Singapore is about to impose restrictions on overseas property buyers.
09, 2011 December:
Italy's newly adopted austerity package aimed at saving the country from an acute debt crisis has sparked fresh controversy after exempting the Vatican from paying property taxes.
06, 2011 December:
Non-resident Indian (NRI) overseas property buyers are facing higher taxes on their investments at home.
01, 2011 December:
Overseas property owners based in the UK, who have not yet disclosed their home(s) overseas to the British tax office, should do so now warns international tax expert Peter Howarth.
30, 2011 November:
The Stamp Duty holiday for first-time buyers will not be extended and will end on March 2012, George Osborne announced today.
28, 2011 November:
UK property is the most desirable in the world for overseas buyers, according to a new report this week. London, in particular, boasts the most expensive residential block in the world, One Hyde Park. 60 of the 86 luxury apartments have been sold, agent Knight Frank recently revealed. And yet only nine of those are registered for council tax. Who actually lives there?
23, 2011 November:
Expats are in danger of overlooking key factors when choosing a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) rather than choosing one that suits their circumstances, it is claimed.
22, 2011 November:
Italy’s new Prime Minister Mario Monti, who was sworn into office on Wednesday of last week, is considering the re-introduction of the country's main property tax - known as ICI - which ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi abolished in 2008.
18, 2011 November:
The Sri Lankan government is scrapping the 100% tax levied on foreigners buying land, in favour of a new special land tax to be unveiled in the 2012 budget.
The Government is encouraging councils in England to freeze Council Tax for another year.
17, 2011 November:
The British government has agreed to sell Northern Rock, the failed mortgage lender it nationalised in 2008, to Virgin Money, the banking arm of Richard Branson's Virgin empire.
16, 2011 November:
Second home investors in Goa are about to be hammered by punitive new tax system that could add as much as $10,000 the annual cost of owning a home there.
14, 2011 November:
The buoyant French holiday home market could face “a slow-down” in the New Year if “vendors take their stock off the market” as the government doubles the scope of its capital gains tax (CGT) regime from February 2012 onwards say local specialists.
11, 2011 November:
Plans to force councils to pay EU fines and undertake costly referendums have been stopped by the LGA, saving taxpayers £1.3 billion.
10, 2011 November:
A tax loophole exploited by companies in order to send cheap mail order goods VAT-free to the UK from the Channel Islands will close from April 1, 2012, the Government has announced
The Philippino Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) upped its VAT thresholds this week on residential land and property transactions.
08, 2011 November:
If you buy a North Cyprus property, then there are 4 property taxes which need to be paid.
Leslie Hardy of Wellington Estates explains them.
02, 2011 November:
Britons with second homes overseas are to become targets to save millions of pounds in tax evasion.
31, 2011 October:
Owners of second homes in England are set to lose council tax discounts as part of new powers to be given to local authorities.
Rules are being tightened in Dubai to make sure that expats pay housing fees by the end of June next year in a crackdown aimed at reducing the numbers not being billed for the tax.
25, 2011 October:
South African is set to provide temporary relief from VAT payments for residential property developers who lease units before intended sale.
24, 2011 October:
Councils in Scotland are to receive new powers to tax empty homes that could help raise millions to build new affordable houses.
20, 2011 October:
The Government has published proposed changes to the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) regime as a result of the consultation exercise which concluded over the summer.
19, 2011 October:
The Scottish Government will unveil plans tomorrow to give councils new powers to charge owners of long-term empty homes up to double the full rate of council tax.
13, 2011 October:
The president of France has announced his decision to overhaul the wealth tax reform system. He plans to increase the tax limit next year and this has caused frenzy amongst the media.
12, 2011 October:
A recent report condemning the Cayman Islands as the world's second most secretive finance jurisdiction has led an island industry insider to call for a better defence against 'those who would bury places like Cayman'.
11, 2011 October:
Agencies based in France are getting ready for a winter sales rush as overseas property owners try to sell up before a new tax bill for capital gains tax takes effect on the 1st of February 2012.
07, 2011 October:
A league table of the world's most secretive tax havens lists Switzerland as the worst offender, six weeks after the UK signed a tax transparency deal with the country.
03, 2011 October:
New and existing luxury residential property owners in China’s city of Chongqing face a new tax from tomorrow as the government continues to try and cool the country’s property market.
Money to extend a council tax freeze in England to 2012-13 has been unveiled by Chancellor George Osborne.
29, 2011 September:
Equity markets rallied in Europe and the US, and commodity prices rose as the Greek parliament approved a new property tax, a key condition of gaining more financial aid for the debt-laden country.
26, 2011 September:
Following a series of proposals, counter proposals, discussions and debates, a compromise deal has been reached on the VAT reduction for first-time home buyers.
22, 2011 September:
French property owners are under fire to reduce lettings prices after the government announced plans to introduce a levy on rents on small apartments considered unfair from 2012.
19, 2011 September:
New evidence that house prices of £1m or more have become commonplace in many parts of the home counties suggests that Liberal Democrat plans for a ‘mansion tax’ could prove electoral suicide.
16, 2011 September:
At a meeting of the Council of Ministers this Friday, 16th September, the Spanish Government plan to reintroduce the Wealth Tax, which was abandoned in 2008.
15, 2011 September:
Almost two-thirds of Britain-based CFOs could not be tempted to move abroad, new research shows.
31, 2011 August:
The Cyprus parliament voted through a €220 million (US $319 million) austerity package this week as the island tries to stave off an international bailout.
26, 2011 August:
As the French government struggles to get a handle on its finances, 16 billionaires have signed a letter demanding to pay more tax. One of the signatories is the L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, who was involved in a tax-evasion scandal last year.
23, 2011 August:
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has warned the Government not to generate revenue by imposing taxes on high-value homes.
09, 2011 August:
It will be interesting to see whether South Hams District Council in Devon succeeds in petitioning the Government to end the ten per cent council tax rebate on second homes.