Thousands of British people, who have moved or retired abroad, could be chased for tax going back six years following a recent court ruling. The landmark decision changed the way the Inland Revenue & Customs calculates whether you are deemed to be resident in Britain and therefore whether you must pay UK tax on your worldwide income and gains.
C.G.T. = Capital Gains Tax = Mais-Valía An issue people in the past never worried about when selling a property was tax, but now it is!! Everyone will agree this is a valid concern. What most people do not know is that it is at the point of purchase that one should be concerned about capital gains. Why? Because the purchase structure will play a significant role in the final bill and thus have an important influence if an investment in Portugal, being profitable or not in the end.
Development control in Portugal and how it works.
It must be the ambition of every country to manage their territory so as to guarantee to future generations that land and buildings will be properly laid out; that everything will be planned to take into account factors such as national and cultural resources, environmental issues and the division of land on a fair basis between public and private interests.
In order to complete a purchase of property, a number of documents are required and must be delivered to the Notary’s office at least one week before the date booked for signing the Deed of Transfer known as the Escritura. These are:
On the 10th. of August of this year (2006), the Governement finally approved the new law dealing with Residencias. The new Residency Law regulates the free circulation and residency of EU Citizens in Portugal. Transposing the EU Directive of 2004, this legislation changes basic assumptions and definitions while greatly simplifying the compliance process for EU citizens. The statutes define three phases and are in harmony with similar measures being adopted throughout the 25 member countries of the European Community and Switzerland.
Three years ago, the previous centre-right coalition government unveiled new property tax laws that resulted in numerous home owners and prospective investors in Portugal taking their money elsewhere. But according to the 2007 state budget tabled for voting this week by the Socialist government, owners of real estate registered through an offshore company can look forward to considerable property-related savings as from next January.
Portuguese fiscal numbers: What you don’t know can hurt you! This is the first in a three part series about potential problems lurking below the surface with your Portuguese Fiscal Numbers:
Lack of progress on holiday property licensing
By CAROLINE CUNHA
caroline@portugalresident.com
DESPITE THE efforts of various organisations in the Algarve and the lobbying of MPs and business groups, no progress has been made in relation to solving the licensing problem concerning the rental of private properties to holidaymakers.
