Onerous UK taxation spurs offshore property boom
Survey highlights growing number of wealthy UK residents buying property offshore
Wealthy UK individuals are fleeing in droves to escape an onerous taxation
system, according to new research.
The finding, by offshore tax firm the Sovereign Group, also reveals the
exodus is fuelling a mini property boom in offshore jurisdictions, according to
tax-news.com
Property prices in Gibraltar and Monaco are rising or holding steady, and
Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Geneva are also reversing the trend.
Howard Bilton, chairman of the Sovereign Group, said: ‘We believe, and all
our local sources are telling us, that much of this disparity is because of
interest from a new breed of British tax refugee as the UK government’s
tax-and-spend folly begins to bite.
‘It is no wonder that the offshore locations are benefiting with healthy
property markets, but it is a very sorry situation for the UK and for those
taxpayers who aren’t able to go offshore.’
The research also follows Chancellor Alistair Darling’s announcement in the
Budget that individuals earning in excess of £150,000 per year will be subject
to a 50% tax rate from next April.
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