Mark Roach

Director (UK)

Wincham Consultants Limited

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By Mark Roach - Tue 7th Aug 2012

 

Tumbit Approved Partner

Wincham Consultants Ltd is a legal, taxation and accountancy practice, specialising in clients with International assets. With a combined experience of over 65 years and professionals that are leaders in our field we are dedicated to giving exceptional client service. Based in both, Congleton, Cheshire (UK) and Calpe, Alicante (Spain) our team consists of qualified professionals including UK Solicitors and Lawyers, Tax Consultants, Chartered Accountants, Gestores (Qualified legal Assistants), Economistas, Abogados, (Spanish Lawyers) and Notary Publics.

Many property owners in Spain are blissfully unaware of the problems that face their beneficiaries and themselves upon death. In Spain it is the duty of the individual beneficiary to both Probate and pay any IHT due. This can differ significantly from the beneficiary's native country. To complicate matters further the amount payable can be influenced by a number of factors such as the relationship to the deceased, pre-existing wealth and amount to be inherited.

Our Company has been operating in Spain for almost 20 years and owns a portfolio of properties using the same UK Company structure which we advise our clients to use. An effective solution to the Inheritance Taxation (IHT) problem in Spain is for the owner/s to invest the property into a UK Private Limited company which they would then own as Shareholders. It is important to remember that a person of any nationality can be appointed as a Company Director or Shareholder of a UK Limited company. This method can eradicate Inheritance Tax in Spain in the future and may mitigate other Taxes payable.

Wincham has received many enquiries in the past 12 months from owners of Spanish property who have growing concerns about Spanish taxes in general and Spanish Inheritance tax in particular. These owners have spoken with one of our Spanish Tax Consultants and have received their free illustration demonstrating the potential Spanish Inheritance Taxes that their Beneficiaries will face. Many of our clients tell us that they have been advised by other professionals that Spanish taxation is likely to decrease in coming years and that Inheritance Tax should not be an issue. This may not be the case as the new Spanish Government is trying to bring financial stability to the Country by raising Taxes. This has affected both Residents and Non Residents of Spain.

Due to the increased awareness of the IHT problem faced by owners of Spanish property our company has decided to extend its services to clients from the Benelux region, (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) Consultants, based in our Calpe and UK office, are multi-lingual covering Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, English and German languages and have been trained extensively in both Spanish Inheritance tax and the process of owning a Spanish property within a UK Company structure.

It is always necessary to consider every case on an individual basis and our trained Consultants can advise on the best structure to adopt for your own circumstances of Spanish property ownership. Please click on the banner (Below) to obtain your 'free of charge' Spanish Inheritance Tax illustration demonstrating your potential Tax liability and the savings you could make by not owning in your own name but owning in a UK Limited Company structure.