News Archive: tax

15, 2010 March:

Expats hail Spanish tax breaks

Special Spanish tax breaks mean that it's not just the football stars such as Ronaldo and Kaká who pay far less taxes. All foreigners who work for Spanish companies can also apply.

26, 2010 February:

Council tax rises higher in Wales

Council tax rates in South Wales are rising more than twice as fast as in England - while Scotland's rates are frozen, it emerged yesterday...

12, 2010 February:

NZ tax options ruled out

The vice-president of the Property Investors Federation is relieved that most New Zealand housing tax options were ruled out in Prime Minister John Key's speech yesterday, but he is wary of what is to come...

08, 2010 February:

Stamp duty concessions coming in?

The Government has published a consultation document entitled "Investment in the UK Private Rented Sector" which indicates that stamp duty concessions could be introduced to encourage institutional investors to become landlords...

05, 2010 February:

NZ homeowners face new land tax

A proposed land tax will be the third tax burden on New Zealand homeowners if the tax working group's recommendations are passed into law...

28, 2010 January:

Saving on stamp duty

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey is looking to save homebuyers thousands of pounds by paying their stamp duty...

22, 2010 January:

New tax law for Egypt

Despite much controversy, Egypt is pushing ahead with plans to introduce new residential and commercial property taxes as part of a series of plans to help modernise the country's outdated taxation system and boost the economy - but the taxes will be rolled out gradually...

Borough claims biggest council tax cut

Tory controlled Windsor and Maidenhead RBC has unveiled what it claims is Britain's biggest council tax cut...

21, 2010 January:

Stamp duty: a benefit to lettings market?

With the Stamp Duty holiday having not been extended by the Chancellor in the Pre-Budget report last month, the tax is now set to affect thousands of buyers around the country...

11, 2010 January:

New property tax for China?

The Chinese Government is likely to impose a property tax on high-end apartments at some point this year as part of their efforts to curb the dangerous housing bubble taking hold in the country - and foreigners will be affected too as property buying may be restricted...

08, 2010 January:

Tories are to fund council tax freeze

The Conservatives have promised to introduce a two year council tax freeze, funded by central government. The plan is that if councils keep their tax rises to 2.5 per cent or lower, the government - if it is a Tory government, of course - will provide funding to make up the difference...

07, 2010 January:

UK interest rates held

The Bank of England held interest rates at a record low today as policymakers treated recent signs of a tentative recovery with caution...

UK homeowners predict small rate rise

It's not only economists and industry commentators who expect little change to the base rate through the course of 2010. Property owners also believe that there will be only a slight rise in the cost of borrowing over the next 12 months as the Government battles to get the economy back on track...

18, 2009 December:

Chinese rush to pawn properties

Property owners in Beijing are pawning their apartments as they attempt to secure quick cash to buy new properties to take advantage of a tax exemption policy due to end on December 31...

Aviation tax would 'devastate' tourism

Imposing climate change taxes on international air travel, as proposed at the Copenhagen climate summit, would be devastating for Australia's $89 billion tourism industry, the nation's top tourism lobby group has warned...

09, 2009 December:

Reward eco-homes with tax cuts

Climate change has been pushed to the top of the agenda with this week's Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, prompting the Government to announce a new pilot scheme to make our homes more energy efficient, but it will take a direct financial incentive to make it a top priority for UK households, says SmartNewHomes.com...

08, 2009 December:

Newcastle supports stamp duty extension

Newcastle Building Society is urging the Government to extend the stamp duty holiday ahead of Alistair Darling's last Pre-Budget report before the general election...

02, 2009 December:

Mansion Tax would bring in £165m

The Liberal Democrats' Mansion Tax backtrack would affect just 19,600 properties in a year - that is the number of households in the UK, excluding Northern Ireland, listed by Mouseprice as being worth £2m or more. Their occupiers would have to pay a ‘wealth' tax each year just for the privilege of living there...

30, 2009 November:

Inheritance tax blow for UK

Families face being hit by Labour plans to freeze a planned rise in the inheritance tax threshold - Alistair Darling is said to be considering ditching the policy of lifting people out of the inheritance tax net...

23, 2009 November:

Brits eligible for Spanish tax refund

A long-awaited ruling by the European Court of Justice means that Britons who sold property in Spain before 2007 and paid 35% in capital gains tax to the Spanish government could be eligible for a refund...

End of stamp duty holiday

In September 2008, the Government opted to increase the stamp duty threshold from £125,000 to £175,000, in a bid to kick-start the housing market - however, the stamp duty holiday is set to end on 31 December 2009 which, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), could have a "detrimental effect" on the housing market in areas yet to see a recovery...

20, 2009 November:

Stamp duty holiday falls flat

The stamp duty holiday implemented last September, at the height of the property downturn, has fallen well short of Government targets, helping only 115,447 UK home buyers in its first year - less than a quarter of the number predicted to benefit, according to leading property website Zoopla.co.uk...

18, 2009 November:

NZ tax rules to be changed

Some New Zealand property tax rules look set to be altered in order to generate more money for the state and rebalance the economy, ANZ economists said today - ANZ's weekly Market Focus newsletter said that while the price of property in New Zealand had improved in recent months, comments made by the Reserve Bank last week suggested that there was a good chance that some policies surrounding the New Zealand property market, such as tax, would be changed in order to help prop up the country's economy...

17, 2009 November:

Air Passenger Duty condemned

Tourism ministers from more than 100 countries have strongly criticised the increase in Air Passenger Duty (APD) imposed by the Government this month...

13, 2009 November:

Renaming council tax?

The Government has announced that it will rename Council Tax Benefit as Council Tax Rebate as part of the campaign to encourage pensioners to claim the help they are entitled to - campaign groups, including the Royal British Legion, are concerned that pensioners are reluctant to claim a ‘benefit'...

11, 2009 November:

UK: stamp duty change

Latimer Hinks Solicitors is warning first time buyers that they will need to re-evaluate their finances in the wake of the residential Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) threshold reverting to its previous rate...

06, 2009 November:

Recession ‘muting tax rises'

Council tax rises could average as low as 1.6 per cent this year, research suggests - a survey by the Local Government Chronicle puts the likely annual increase at its lowest level for over a decade...

03, 2009 November:

Israel raises rates

Israel, which has been the best-performing residential property market this year, may lose its standing after becoming one of the first countries to raise interest rates since the global recession began...

02, 2009 November:

Agents: VAT claims

Agents may be able to reclaim VAT on insurance commissions, following a High Court ruling against HMRC...

28, 2009 October:

Holiday relief tax

Britons who let out holiday homes in the UK are likely to be losing their furnished holiday lettings tax relief, next April - new legislation, details of which are expected in November's pre-Budget report, are expected to outline changes to the tax rules for furnished properties available to let for at least 140 days a year and actually let for 70 days year...

27, 2009 October:

UK ‘stealth tax'

Second home owners will be hit with a "stealth tax" of thousands of pounds a year under legislation to be announced by the Chancellor Alistair Darling in his Pre-Budget Report (PBR) next month - the move by will hit an estimated 60,000 property owners who let out their second homes to paying guests for a substantial part of the year...

16, 2009 October:

Spending a penny

A Devon couple who paid six months' council tax in advance have received an apology after getting a letter back saying the cheque was 1p short...

12, 2009 October:

Great Britain?

Whatever happened to Great Britain is the question we should be asking ourselves this morning after new research revealed that Britain is the worst place to live in Europe despite having the highest salaries - this positive monetary aspect was cancelled out by a poor climate, long working hours and high household and grocery bills...

05, 2009 October:

Mansion tax

Country Life explains why the mansion tax proposed by the Lib Dems would have nasty repercussions for the economy as a whole...

Paying more for legroom

Extra-legroom seats on flights could be a casualty of the rise in Air Passenger Duty - Britain's leading travel companies say they will abandon their premium-economy cabins if the Government presses ahead with its plans to increase Air Passenger Duty (APD) in November...

30, 2009 September:

New tax laws for Singapore

A change to the Singapore tax law, which was due to take effect in January next year, has been the subject of much controversy as many believe that the new rules could be extremely damaging to the country's property industry - but now the Singapore Government has made a move to clarify the changes and reassure those that the rules will not be a negative change - but some remain unconvinced...

24, 2009 September:

Taxing times in Trinidad

Property owners in Trinidad are up in arms following an announcement from the country's Government that they will face far higher taxes from next year - something which is bound to have a detrimental affect on the number of international investors keen to invest in the Trinidad property market...

21, 2009 September:

Capital gains tax for NZ?

One of the attractions of buying property in New Zealand as a foreign investor is the lack of capital gains tax on property there - but now all that is set to change with an announcement that the tax system is being reviewed and this unpopular tax could be introduced soon...

New US tourist tax

The travel industry has criticised plans to introduce a $10 (£6) tax on all British holidaymakers entering the United States...

15, 2009 September:

Snooper's handbook

If you have just proudly added an en suite bathroom to your house or laid a tiled floor in your conservatory, then beware - as part of secret plans for a council tax hike on the middle classes, inspectors have been armed with a new 'snoopers handbook' to ensure that no home improvement - however discreet --escapes their scrutiny...

New tax for NZ?

New Zealand Labour leader Phil Goff says his party is prepared to discuss a capital gains tax with the Government, opening the way for an accord on a tax that has long been a political hot potato...

09, 2009 September:

‘Green tax' on Maldives

Holidaymakers planning to take a trip to the Maldives could soon find themselves being forced to fork out an ‘environmental tax,' as part of a drive to help reverse the affects of climate change and bring in the much needed tourist cash...

28, 2009 August:

Taxing times

American bankers living over here in London have been so put off by the high living costs and tax increases - those earning over £150,000 a year will be taxed at 50 per cent from April next year and nondoms will have to pay a large annual fee to retain their tax friendly status - that they are selling up and heading home...

25, 2009 August:

Window tax: a pane

Hard-up families will be forced to pay more council tax if they do not have double-glazing under barmy new proposals...

18, 2009 August:

New property tax for Egypt

Egypt plans to introduce new residential and commercial property taxes in January next year as part of a series of plans to help modernise the country's outdated taxation system and boost the economy - but the tax stands to have a negative impact on international investors as it may put them off buying property in the country...

17, 2009 August:

UK, Liechtenstein tax deal

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has agreed to begin a mutual exchange of knowledge with Liechtenstein, in order to end its status as a tax haven...

13, 2009 August:

Investment boom for St Lucia

Demand for property in St Lucia is set to skyrocket following news that new direct flights from both the UK and the USA are set to take off from October this year - making access to the Caribbean island far quicker and easier - and when coupled with the country's tax holiday on rental income, St Lucia is looking a solid bet for investors and holidaymakers alike...

Value (un) added tax

Labour has resurrected the idea of a tax on house values as it looks to find a replacement for the council tax, it emerged today...

07, 2009 August:

Canada renovation credit

Homeowners are being encouraged to utilise Canada's proposed Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) if they plan to make renovations to their homes in the next six months...