How to avoid paying tax

[Nostrodamus]

So I have worked all my life and paid my dues to any government agency which wants to take their slice from my wages.
We have now sold all our assets in the UK, moved aboard our boat and will soon be leaving the UK for good to cruise. At the moment we have no intentions of going back apart from the occasional visit.
Even though I am not using any resources they still tax my meagre pension.
I have heard of merchant seamen and even long haul flight staff paying a reduced rate of tax but is there any way I can reduce or even get rid of them taking my money. I can certainly spend it more wisely than they can.

 

[James Marinero]

Well...

...you could take Greek nationality

 

[Twister_Ken]

Sounds like you need professional advice. I wouldn't want to rely on forum opinion for something so critical. Do you have an accountant? If not find one. Maybe one who lives in the Cayman Islands, not Beckenham.

 

[Nostrodamus]

Sounds like you need professional advice. I wouldn't want to rely on forum opinion for something so critical. Do you have an accountant? If not find one. Maybe one who lives in the Cayman Islands, not Beckenham.

I have no doubt there re numerous people on here who are or intend to be in the same position. Just thought there may be someone who had found a loophole (legal of course) or could point me in the right direction.

 

[rogerthebodger]

Have a look at www.mm2h.com

The short version is you live in Malaysia for 182 days a year and pay no tax on income derived from outside Malaysia,

 

[sighmoon]

All income arising in the UK is taxed in the UK. Your UK pension arises in the Uk, so is taxed in the UK.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

So I have worked all my life and paid my dues to any government agency which wants to take their slice from my wages.
We have now sold all our assets in the UK, moved aboard our boat and will soon be leaving the UK for good to cruise. At the moment we have no intentions of going back apart from the occasional visit.
Even though I am not using any resources they still tax my meagre pension.
I have heard of merchant seamen and even long haul flight staff paying a reduced rate of tax but is there any way I can reduce or even get rid of them taking my money. I can certainly spend it more wisely than they can.

The only way of avoiding paying tax in the UK is to become a tax payer somewhere else. in your case, with low income, it should be possible to be resident for tax purposes in a place that has a more favourable view of your pension income.

You MUST take professional advice to do this.

 

[MrCramp]

So I have worked all my life and paid my dues to any government agency which wants to take their slice from my wages.
.

I am likely to do the same in a few years time and I have considered this matter.

Eventually I suspect I would want to return to this country in my old age, and use the NHS and perhaps even social services particularly if I am unlucky and get dementia and/or other ailments which mean I can not look after myself. I would want to return and use the NHS if I got ill.

I concluded that I should accept that tax will be deducted from my pension to contribute to the recourses that I may want to use in the future.

 

[Nostrodamus]

The only way of avoiding paying tax in the UK is to become a tax payer somewhere else. in your case, with low income, it should be possible to be resident for tax purposes in a place that has a more favourable view of your pension income.

You MUST take professional advice to do this.

This is the catch 22.
My pesion is payed here so I am taxed here. It is not a lot but accountants seem to want quiet a big fee for advice and probably more for doing anything about it. My wife is not working and recieves nothing from the goverment like me and we also support our two children.
I am in the bracket where I get too much to recieve any help but have to use all the pension to support the family.

 

[Csail]

So I have worked all my life and paid my dues to any government agency which wants to take their slice from my wages.
We have now sold all our assets in the UK, moved aboard our boat and will soon be leaving the UK for good to cruise. At the moment we have no intentions of going back apart from the occasional visit.
Even though I am not using any resources they still tax my meagre pension.
I have heard of merchant seamen and even long haul flight staff paying a reduced rate of tax but is there any way I can reduce or even get rid of them taking my money. I can certainly spend it more wisely than they can.

just ignore them , they soon give up apparently.

 

[Rowana]

There are different rules depending on whether you are "Resident", "Ordinarily Resident" or "Domiciled"

see here -
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/simple-guide-to-residence.pdf


I think you will have to complete form P85. Your tax office should advise


(Youngest Daughter works in Tax!)

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

This is the catch 22.
My pesion is payed here so I am taxed here. It is not a lot but accountants seem to want quiet a big fee for advice and probably more for doing anything about it. My wife is not working and recieves nothing from the goverment like me and we also support our two children.
I am in the bracket where I get too much to recieve any help but have to use all the pension to support the family.

There are ways around the problem, but you need a professional to help you.
He may want a couple of thousand for doing so, but if that sort of cost is not justified by the saving then you are on a hiding to nothing anyway.

 

[Nostrodamus]

I am likely to do the same in a few years time and I have considered this matter.

Eventually I suspect I would want to return to this country in my old age, and use the NHS and perhaps even social services particularly if I am unlucky and get dementia and/or other ailments which mean I can not look after myself. I would want to return and use the NHS if I got ill.

I concluded that I should accept that tax will be deducted from my pension to contribute to the recourses that I may want to use in the future.

I thought National Insurance was for health care which you will not pay when you retire.
Tax goes to pay for MP's second homes, tv's etc. I don't even want a home. Just to be able to spend the money in my pension.

 

[Sybarite]

So I have worked all my life and paid my dues to any government agency which wants to take their slice from my wages.
We have now sold all our assets in the UK, moved aboard our boat and will soon be leaving the UK for good to cruise. At the moment we have no intentions of going back apart from the occasional visit.
Even though I am not using any resources they still tax my meagre pension.
I have heard of merchant seamen and even long haul flight staff paying a reduced rate of tax but is there any way I can reduce or even get rid of them taking my money. I can certainly spend it more wisely than they can.

My tax knowledge is rusty but if you leave the UK on a permanent basis you are no longer resident or ordinarily resident for tax purposes. However the tax people might want to know where you have established residence before taking you off their lists.

 

[Slow_boat]

It appears only the rich can avoid paying tax.

You could always get your wife to live in Monaco (no tax) and put everything in her name. That's apparantly legal, if not moral and has been proved to work. But then you wouldn't want to have a row.

So far as national insurance is concerned, I understand that you have to prove you've paid 'x' amount of contributions (35 years worth?) then you can stop.

 

[Nautorius]

From my understanding (in a broad sense) you have 2 options, both of which require you to be resident in another country.

1) Take a permanent employment contract in another country. HMRC will then allow you to close your UK Tax affairs as a UK resident and pay tax as another Resident Overseas. Be aware that any income in the UK will be subject to UK Tax.

2) Leave the UK for good. This means filling in a form and saying you are never going back. However they will still want to know where you are going before you can do this. The burden of proof that you have left the UK is on you....and it is hardwork. You have to sell all UK assets, prove immeadiate family (who you support) are also leaving UK etc.

Unfortunately the days of Telling HMRC you are leaving and them saying Bye Bye are long gone!

I left the Uk early 2009, and it took 2 years and a lot of forms, fines and money to escape>...and I had a Permanent Job overseas to go to which should be the simplest solution. I told them 2 months before leaving I was going, filled all forms in and went. 6 months after going and having all DOCs in UK storage they launched a 7 Year Tax investigation after I asked for a Tax refund.

Good luck, but the simplest option is to Pay UK Tax!

Paul (Not a Tax specialist)

 

[V1701]

Access to NHS services if you're not "ordinarily resident" in the UK is not straight forward either. They have "UK national but not ordinarily resident?" posters up in hospitals to that effect. I think there are different rules for those of pensionable age as compared to younger, and also different rules depending on the time you spend outside of UK per year. I think there's also a period of time where if you are not living at all in UK you cease to be entitled to any NHS treatment at all for free. Worth looking into properly...

 

[sighmoon]

My tax knowledge is rusty but if you leave the UK on a permanent basis you are no longer resident or ordinarily resident for tax purposes.

We are no longer resident or ordinariy resident in the UK. However, income arising from the Uk is still taxed there.

 

[Nostrodamus]

This is getting worse by the minute.
They have taxed me to hell all my working life, tax my pension even though I don't want to be in the country and then will not let me use the NHS or anything else I have contributed to.
I supposed if I said I came from an eastern block country they would be falling over themselves to give me money.

 

[savageseadog]

My tax knowledge is rusty but if you leave the UK on a permanent basis you are no longer resident or ordinarily resident for tax purposes. However the tax people might want to know where you have established residence before taking you off their lists.

That is more or less the situation, you cannot be resident nowhere