http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/p...UK-taxman.html

The main issue with Gaines-Cooper was that he had no contract of employment in the Seychelles, and did not 'work' there.

The article itself did not discuss what he did for a living or where. This is more clear cut for most 'expats'.

Lucky my new job provides me with a clear tax indemnity... !

Illicit drug import/ export?

I would not take this story lightly. My tax consultant provided me with a checklist to support 'non-resident status' and at first glance I was surprised at the level of detail. Discussing further he reiterated a lot of the points in the article and emphasized above all that 'you are guilty until proven innocent'. List includes; sale of principal residence, sale or removal of personal effects, termonate health care coverage, close non-essentail bank accts, cancel credit cards etc etc

The problem is, most British expats in the ME have not emigrated from the UK - they are just out for an uncertain period depending on how the job goes. It is unlikely you would sell up and cut ties completely in such a situation.

I agree it is worrying if HMRC take a view that unless you are emigrating, you (effectively) remain resident for tax, regardless of the number of days spent in the UK or an overseas contract of employment with all work performed overseas.

I don't think we have reached this point yet - Gaines-Cooper is a complex and somewhat special case of an individual who was clearly pushing his luck.

However, things may well move in this direction over the forthcoming years.

Hear you and agree. It's just that with the combination of Govts desparate for tax revenue, increased transparency in international banking and past precedents failing in court, things will likely turn increasingly sour sooner rather than later. My best advise is to review your individual case with a tax consultant and then make up your mind on how much risk you are prepared to take. BTW, this situation is by no means unique to the UK; US, Canada and France are positively draconian by comparison.

Indeed we have a long way to go to reach their levels but it's definately a good idea for most expats to start looking at tax more seriously...and making sure all forms from the tax man are filled and filed when out of the country for any length of time now.

Someone has to be pay for all those civil servants pensions, unemployed immigrants and free health service that has resulted in 50+ years of socialism that would have made the Soviets jealous.

N.

Well said.

Sadly (but not unexpectedly), the socialism continues under Clegeron.

Apologies for the daft question, but is there any way to do these forms retrospectively online? Or is the best approach to write in to Inland Revenue in the UK and request them to post across the forms to the UAE?

I have found the people in Glasgow very helpfull if you give them a phone call.

Not daft at all.

Have a look at www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr - am not sure about getting it sorted online though but all the forms are online available to download in pdf format...for most of us here the first form we fill is the P85. Can't give you anything more specific that that without knowing your particular circumstances.

Hope that helps.

N.

Thank you! Much appreciated - I'll have a looksee.

I'm sure the Soviets would have loved the mass privatisations of infrastructure and the deregulations of the finance industry, not to mention the use of immigration and unemployment as a monetarist tool to keep wages low.