Article by: Sam Orgill info@proactpartnership.com Published: 13/11/2008

ProACT Partnership offer Professional Expatriate Advice to people living, working, retiring or investing abroad.

The British taxation department, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), is preparing to sign four new double taxation treaties (DTTs) with the Netherlands, Thailand, Libya and Ethiopia as of March 31 2009 and is in negotiations with several other countries to establish DTTs by 2010.

"The UK has a comprehensive network of bilateral double taxation conventions and we are committed to maintaining and strengthening this network,” said financial secretary, Jane Kennedy MP. “These agreements help UK business and investors to remain competitive by providing them with a measure of certainty and stability in their tax affairs."

HMRC also revealed its plans yesterday to progress negotiations with the USA, Hungary, Belgium, Luxembourg and China regarding existing DTT talks and is looking to approach the governments of Spain, Australia, Canada and Israel to start a dialogue about setting up DTTs by 2010.

DTTs aim to eliminate the double taxation of income or capital gains arising in one country and paid to residents of another. This development is particularly of interest to international second home companies when marketing their properties to clients. When these agreements are in place, an investor can sell their property in one country, repatriate the funds to their home nation, and not pay any more than the maximum amount of capital gains tax in any one of the countries.

Work on tax information agreements (information sharing) with Brazil, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man and the British Virgin Islands is also due to finish by the end of March next year.

In the last two years, the UK has signed double tax treaties with

• Macedonia (November 2006)

• the Faroe Islands (June 2007)

• Saudi Arabia (October 2007)

• Moldova and Slovenia (November 2007)

• France (June 2008)

Protocols to the treaties with

• Switzerland (June 2007)

• New Zealand (November 2007)

and a tax information agreement with Bermuda (December 2007).

There are more than 1,300 Double Taxation Conventions world-wide - the UK has one of the largest networks covering more than 100 countries.

For advice or to book your FREE taxation review with the expatriate specialists log on to www.proactpartnership.com/contactus.htm

Article courtesy of www.opp.org.uk

Article Link: http://www.property-partnership.com/overseas-property-guides/overseas-property-guide.cfm?id=177

Please contact the author at info@proactpartnership.com for more information.