Tax and company advice

[markno1]

Hi i wrote on this forum a year or so ago looking for advice on how to get into ROV’s but decided an easier option to get offshore was NDT, but what im about to write is related purely to working offshore/ outside the UK and how to avoid tax so im sure it’ll come in useful for some.

Ive managed to get a start in Holland my first job in NDT, however they need me to form a limited company (it doesnt have to be UK i’m presuming) to pay me this way, and become VAT registered etc…..

The position i am in is i left the UK on the 11th April 2009 for a holiday in Thailand, and i’m back for 1 day (today) before flying out to The Netherlands.

I am intent on leaving England for the foreseable future (forever) and have no need to come back here unless something unforeseen happens. Would i be able to become a tax exile if i do it this way or how would i go about it. But more importantly what is this 90 day rule as i will definitely be able to do this, this year will this mean i avoid tax.

I realise a forum such as this isnt the best place to come for definite advice on tax issues, so i am wondering if anyone can recommend an accountant who specialises in people working outside the UK in the Oil and Gas industry and can offer the best possible advice so i can get my tax bill down to somewhere in the region of Zero pence PA.

Or would it be best for me to form a company in one of the world tax havens?

Cheers in advance.

[James McLauchlan]

For professional advice Look in this Forum.. there is a UK offshore type tax consultant that’s posted a few times.

I’ll have a bash at answering one or two of your questions.
My take on this (as an UK ex-pat since 1991) is…..

If I were you I would ignore the day you (transited) through the UK. i.e. today! It didn’t happen! Really you should have not come back at all if you could have avoided it. Get out ASAP… then write to the UK tax man and declare that you left the country on 11th April for Thailand and have no intention of returning. Give then the address in Thailand where you stayed (even if it is a company staff house address) and also your new address in your new chosen country of residence.

Basically, to get full ex-pat status, you should leave the UK for 365 days in one hit and not return at all during that period. After qualifying only then are you allowed up to 90 days a year in the UK, but these days must be visits and not for work purposes, although you are allowed to drop in to work on project management meetings etc.
Whilst going through the qualifying period you should not visit the UK at all.. unless you transit through airside (technically not in the UK).

The way I understand it, you can work in UK waters if you live in another EU country as long as you declare all your income to the EU you reside in. I think you are obliged to do that under EU law anyway if that is your country of residence.
They will tax you according to their system and rules but you cannot be taxed by one EU state and also have to declare your income and pay taxes to yet another. It often works out far better to not be involved with the UK tax system at all (there is a surprise) and run with the system that applies in the EU state you live in.

If you are living in another EU country, get yourself registered there as a resident and fall under their tax system. As long as you have proof of tax registration inn that other EU state and proof of residency there then that will prevent the UK tax man from getting a chunk of your future earnings.
Many EU countries are far more user friendly tax wise compared to the UK that’s for sure. Certainly there are only one or two that are more expensive.

The above is just my take on the system, based on a few years of experience. If I were you I would start doing some further research before you contact the UK tax authorities to advise them that you are planning to deprive them of revenue 😉 You should contact them though and tell them you have left rather than do nothing.

If you are moving out of the UK full stop, and have no intention of returning (I wholly recommend this approach.. but then I would say that) I would also advise that you do not bank in the UK or own a motor vehicle or have any credit cards/savings there either. Basically drop off the UK financial radar completely and after a while you will pretty much cease to exist in the system and will be left alone.

best regards
James Mc

[markno1]

Cheers for taking the time to write that reply james, seems as if its not as easy as one may think. Can you PM me the name of the Tax Consultant.

Ive got to return for 1 day next week and 1 day the week after, after this there is no need to return i’d heard different stories of 90 days etc.. but thanks for clearing that i need to be away for a full year ….. only thing i’ll miss being away for this long is the food!

PS How does the taxman know for sure that you’ve not re-entered the country are they in contact with Customs.

[Ray Shields]

PS How does the taxman know for sure that you’ve not re-entered the country are they in contact with Customs.

Not Customs – Immigration. Every time you enter the UK your passport is scanned so they have a record of you coming in.

They also have access to your cerdit card usage should they feel the need, there was a story many years ago about someone who had said they were out of the UK when they were still in it and got caught because they used their credit card in the Uk suring the time they were suposedly out.

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