London - I'll be there soon - Page 2

April_Ryan · #11 (**permalink**) 17th October 2007, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stravinsky

Its always a bit of a pain with the banks as you normally need to provide utility bills etc to show where you live!!! The UK are backward with banking. I tried to open a Euro account and found it quite difficult with HSBC. To transfer Euros out here to Spain with them costs £25 a time.

So I kept a UK account, opened a Spanish account, and then used something called ñññ You can transfer your sterling to the Sunpay account, transfer it to euros within the account, and then transfer the euros to your spanish account. It costs 10 euros per transfer so you need to plan your transfers to make the most of it.

I dont think you should contemplate UK citizenship ...... unless for some reaon you want to give up your Spanish citizenship. As an EU resident you can go there and work there, in much the same way I have moved to your homeland

Do you know Citybank and their multi-currency products?

I've heard that I'll be able to retrieve US dollars in the USA, GBP in the UK and EUR in the Euro zone from any Citybank ATM with no commission.

Do you know of any advantages of having UK residence besides Spanish?

Stravinsky · #12 (**permalink**) 17th October 2007, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by April_Ryan

Do you know Citybank and their multi-currency products?

I've heard that I'll be able to retrieve US dollars in the USA, GBP in the UK and EUR in the Euro zone from any Citybank ATM with no commission.

Do you know of any advantages of having UK residence besides Spanish?

I think you have to distinguish between UK residency and citizenship for an EU subject. With residence you are just declaring you are resident in a particular country and in most cases you then fall under their tax regime until you actually move elsewhere. Citizenship of course is renouncing your nationality and becoming British which is quite a step to take.

In Spain by being a resident I benefit from slightly different tax rates in some cases, am treated slightly differently should I sell my home here, and get discounts at some museums and stuff

And its law that I have to register as a resident anyway. But in reality I dont really gain anything from it

But if you are a US national moving to the UK to work I'm guessing its going to be a whole different ball game as you will presumably be coming under the visa system

April_Ryan · #13 (**permalink**) 17th October 2007, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stravinsky

I think you have to distinguish between UK residency and citizenship for an EU subject. With residence you are just declaring you are resident in a particular country and in most cases you then fall under their tax regime until you actually move elsewhere. Citizenship of course is renouncing your nationality and becoming British which is quite a step to take.

In Spain by being a resident I benefit from slightly different tax rates in some cases, am treated slightly differently should I sell my home here, and get discounts at some museums and stuff

And its law that I have to register as a resident anyway. But in reality I dont really gain anything from it

But if you are a US national moving to the UK to work I'm guessing its going to be a whole different ball game as you will presumably be coming under the visa system

Thank you very much for your quick response.

Yes, I understand the difference between residence and citizenship, I used citizenship incorrectly in my first post. What I am considering is to change my current Spanish residence to British residence. Do you think it's worth it? In which cases?

Stravinsky · #14 (**permalink**) 17th October 2007, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by April_Ryan

Thank you very much for your quick response.

Yes, I understand the difference between residence and citizenship, I used citizenship incorrectly in my first post. What I an considering is to change my current Spanish residence to British residence. Do you think it's worth it? In which cases?

Well, I'm not sure how it works in reverse ... as I say in Spain I had no choice. I think as far as tax is concerned, depending on your salary the tax in the UK may be slightly better.

April_Ryan · #15 (**permalink**) 17th October 2007, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stravinsky

Well, I'm not sure how it works in reverse ... as I say in Spain I had no choice. I think as far as tax is concerned, depending on your salary the tax in the UK may be slightly better.

I've checked income taxes in The UK and they are much better for my salary. But I think that I will be taxed there even if I'm not resident, is that true? Then I won't have to pay again taxes in Spain since The UK has a non-double-taxation treaty with Spain.

There are also other taxes to be considered such as the capital gains tax. I know how it goes in Spain but I have no idea how much I will pay for that in UK... If it is better, maybe I should take my money there?

Stravinsky · #16 (**permalink**) 17th October 2007, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by April_Ryan

I've checked income taxes in The UK and they are much better for my salary. But I think that I will be taxed there even if I'm not resident, is that true? Then I won't have to pay again taxes in Spain since The UK has a non-double-taxation treaty with Spain.

There are also other taxes to be considered such as the capital gains tax. I know how it goes in Spain but I have no idea how much I will pay for that in UK... If it is better, maybe I should take my money there?

Capital gains in Spain is 18% now I think for resident or non resident. In the UK its up to 40% ... heres a link Capital Gains Tax (CGT) : Directgov - Money, tax and benefits

IHT is crippling in Spain ..... hardly any allowances for it, whereas in the UK its going to be around £300k soon allowance wise.

There IS a double taxation treaty ... you might get double taxed when you first change, but you can re claim and wont end up paying twice.