Britons owning properties overseas are urged to inform HMRC if no disclosure has been made already. Tax specialist Peter Howarth is warning advisers to notify their foreign property owning clients of a new investigation team established by HMRC to track down people who own land and property abroad by ‘data mining' publicly available records.
Howarth, a tax consultant with Afimar Accountants in Fuengirola and a former Inland Revenue inspector, says this latest development is one of a number of trends conspiring to catch out those who have undisclosed assets. "At one time it would be easy to buy a home overseas and no-one would be any the wiser," he explains. "Nowadays there is increasing transparency as land registry records and other public information is readily available on the internet. "At the same time we are seeing greater international collaboration between tax authorities. The treaties in place between the UK and...
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