Avery Associates, specialists in all matters concerning valuations for probate bring you the latest IHT news.
The Sunday Times has revealed that a huge number of properties in central London are held in offshore tax havens, which could mean that the owners are not liable to pay inheritance tax.
Over £100 billion is currently held in tax shelters overseas, meaning the government is losing potentially billions in tax revenue, and now the Chancellor is under pressure to sort it out and close the loophole.
In some parts of London, the number of properties held by overseas owners is over one in 20.
The place where the number of properties is highest is Westminster, with 10,233 out of 18,700 held overseas.
In Kensington and Chelsea there are 5,474 held overseas, and there are 1,805 in Camden, with more in other parts of London.
This means that the rich owners might be able to avoid paying inheritance tax, currently charged at 40%.
They may also not have to pay the 5% stamp duty on properties which cost more than £1 million, meaning if a property is held by an offshore owner they might not have to pay any stamp duty at all if they are not resident or domiciled in the UK.
Now experts have said that this is adding up to cost the UK £1.3 billion in inheritance tax and up to £500 million in stamp duty each year.
For professional advice call Jeffrey Avery on 0800 567 7769
