HMRC looking to squeeze out tax from overseas homes

Britain's highest earners are to be targeted by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) again, but this time for money from their second homes in places like France and Spain.A team of inspectors from the tax agency has been tasked with looking at what taxes could be claimed from the holiday homes that have been purchased abroad, many by people who are already surrendering half of their incomes to the 50 per cent tax rate. The team - which is thought to number in excess of 200 tax operatives - will be scouring rental adverts put in magazines and on the internet by the owners of the homes, in the hope of catching out undisclosed holiday rents or leased office space. David Gauke, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said that they would be examining the work of commodity traders and people who hold offshore bank accounts first.RSM Tenon's head of investigations, Gary Ashford, said no one is safe and warned second home owners to make sure they could defend themselves. "Taxes involving overseas properties can always be potentially complicated," he said. "HMRC could target [second home owners] whether or not they have intended to do anything wrong."

http://www.50percenttax.co.uk/index/2011/11/2/hmrc-looking-to-squeeze-out-tax-from-overseas-homes.html