Where to learn how to hide your assets
Discussion
Hi JD,
Many thanks for your post. We all miss off a little bit of tax here and there where it wont be noticed, but on the whole, I've never evaded any substantial tax of any type and have little interest in doing so. My interest is in distancing myself from il-liquid assets which include prperty and company ownership to put them beyond litigation. I have good reasons for doing so in the future that I'd rather not go into here. Going back to my question though, I am very interested in how such schemes work.
In recent years, as an example Nicholas Van Hoogstraten has managed to put his vast wealth beyond reach very effectively and in recent civil proceedigs over his manslaughter case the court hasn't been able to identify his assets including his £30 million mansion Hamilton Palace which is clearly owned by owned by him. I did a bit of digging on Companies House and the Land register and his properties are owned by various UK limited companies. One of the companies named Tombstone Ltd has many proeprties recorded against it in the company Record. The sole sharehoder used to be Nicholas Von Hessen which is an alias he uses for himself although this was enough to put the company and properties beyond the reach of others. How this works I fail to see as there is no such person and surely the company can be traced back to him as he has simply transferred it and I doubt can prove money has exchanged hands. I simply don't see how what he has done has distanced himself from this company, but court proceedings show that it has and that the company coudlnt' be identified as being owned by him. Another example is that of his Uckfield estate High Cross Park which is owned by a company of his called Rarebargain Ltd, but this ownership can't be traced back to him to identify the proeprty as his.
I've tried posting on taxationweb about this before and not got anywhere. It's pretty clear to me that there whilst there are US books that cover hiding assets there, there arent' any such for the UK. What are the rules on accountant confidentiality? I'm well aware that under certain circumstances they have obligations to report their clients, for example under the money laundering regualtions and if the Police require infomration from them. I presume there are also court disclosure orders that can be used against them?
[/quote]
You are correct with your statements about confidentiality, money laundering and court orders can place a requirement for disclosure.
Whilst I don't actually know the route Hoogstraten took, it does sound awfully like an (possibly second hand but probably not in his case) excluded property trust. This exploited residency and domicilliary rules which are something pretty unique to the UK. Rules on domicile and residency are why so many very wealthy individuals locate in the UK, there are many who have incredible wealth yet pay no UK tax of any sort: income, CGT or IHT, though the recent pre budget statement is attempting to do something about it and these rules are constantly speculated about, yet the government are between a rock and a hard place. Change and attempt revenue collections which deters foreign nationals from coming here (or indeed they up sticks and go somewhere more favourable tax wise) or leave as it is and still not collect revenues, hmmm.
Hoogstraten is a Dutch national is he not? From what you describe, I would think it likely that one or more offshore trusts (of some description, excluded property-perhaps) holds the shares which in turn own the various assets you list.
To be specific about your original question, it appears from the limited information available that you will struggle to achieve the goal, especially so if you are UK resident and UK domilciled. Of these, domicile is the key one and also the most difficult to change.
Without intending to appear defensive or mysterious, you really need to have a chat to a professional who specialises in the area-I am not aware of any books that could help you-sorry.
Oh, and Emicen, yes I'm an IFA
(Though I don't consider myself an average one,then again I wouldn't would I!) who specialises in high net worth individuals and IHT avoidance. Being in this field of work requires much crossover knowledge re tax and law.
Many thanks for your post. We all miss off a little bit of tax here and there where it wont be noticed, but on the whole, I've never evaded any substantial tax of any type and have little interest in doing so. My interest is in distancing myself from il-liquid assets which include prperty and company ownership to put them beyond litigation. I have good reasons for doing so in the future that I'd rather not go into here. Going back to my question though, I am very interested in how such schemes work.
In recent years, as an example Nicholas Van Hoogstraten has managed to put his vast wealth beyond reach very effectively and in recent civil proceedigs over his manslaughter case the court hasn't been able to identify his assets including his £30 million mansion Hamilton Palace which is clearly owned by owned by him. I did a bit of digging on Companies House and the Land register and his properties are owned by various UK limited companies. One of the companies named Tombstone Ltd has many proeprties recorded against it in the company Record. The sole sharehoder used to be Nicholas Von Hessen which is an alias he uses for himself although this was enough to put the company and properties beyond the reach of others. How this works I fail to see as there is no such person and surely the company can be traced back to him as he has simply transferred it and I doubt can prove money has exchanged hands. I simply don't see how what he has done has distanced himself from this company, but court proceedings show that it has and that the company coudlnt' be identified as being owned by him. Another example is that of his Uckfield estate High Cross Park which is owned by a company of his called Rarebargain Ltd, but this ownership can't be traced back to him to identify the proeprty as his.
I've tried posting on taxationweb about this before and not got anywhere. It's pretty clear to me that there whilst there are US books that cover hiding assets there, there arent' any such for the UK. What are the rules on accountant confidentiality? I'm well aware that under certain circumstances they have obligations to report their clients, for example under the money laundering regualtions and if the Police require infomration from them. I presume there are also court disclosure orders that can be used against them?
[/quote]
You are correct with your statements about confidentiality, money laundering and court orders can place a requirement for disclosure.
Whilst I don't actually know the route Hoogstraten took, it does sound awfully like an (possibly second hand but probably not in his case) excluded property trust. This exploited residency and domicilliary rules which are something pretty unique to the UK. Rules on domicile and residency are why so many very wealthy individuals locate in the UK, there are many who have incredible wealth yet pay no UK tax of any sort: income, CGT or IHT, though the recent pre budget statement is attempting to do something about it and these rules are constantly speculated about, yet the government are between a rock and a hard place. Change and attempt revenue collections which deters foreign nationals from coming here (or indeed they up sticks and go somewhere more favourable tax wise) or leave as it is and still not collect revenues, hmmm.
Hoogstraten is a Dutch national is he not? From what you describe, I would think it likely that one or more offshore trusts (of some description, excluded property-perhaps) holds the shares which in turn own the various assets you list.
To be specific about your original question, it appears from the limited information available that you will struggle to achieve the goal, especially so if you are UK resident and UK domilciled. Of these, domicile is the key one and also the most difficult to change.
Without intending to appear defensive or mysterious, you really need to have a chat to a professional who specialises in the area-I am not aware of any books that could help you-sorry.
Oh, and Emicen, yes I'm an IFA
(Though I don't consider myself an average one,then again I wouldn't would I!) who specialises in high net worth individuals and IHT avoidance. Being in this field of work requires much crossover knowledge re tax and law. Edited by JD247 on Saturday 10th November 20:29
JD247 said:
Hi JD,
Many thanks for your post. We all miss off a little bit of tax here and there where it wont be noticed, but on the whole, I've never evaded any substantial tax of any type and have little interest in doing so. My interest is in distancing myself from il-liquid assets which include prperty and company ownership to put them beyond litigation. I have good reasons for doing so in the future that I'd rather not go into here. Going back to my question though, I am very interested in how such schemes work.
In recent years, as an example Nicholas Van Hoogstraten has managed to put his vast wealth beyond reach very effectively and in recent civil proceedigs over his manslaughter case the court hasn't been able to identify his assets including his £30 million mansion Hamilton Palace which is clearly owned by owned by him. I did a bit of digging on Companies House and the Land register and his properties are owned by various UK limited companies. One of the companies named Tombstone Ltd has many proeprties recorded against it in the company Record. The sole sharehoder used to be Nicholas Von Hessen which is an alias he uses for himself although this was enough to put the company and properties beyond the reach of others. How this works I fail to see as there is no such person and surely the company can be traced back to him as he has simply transferred it and I doubt can prove money has exchanged hands. I simply don't see how what he has done has distanced himself from this company, but court proceedings show that it has and that the company coudlnt' be identified as being owned by him. Another example is that of his Uckfield estate High Cross Park which is owned by a company of his called Rarebargain Ltd, but this ownership can't be traced back to him to identify the proeprty as his.
I've tried posting on taxationweb about this before and not got anywhere. It's pretty clear to me that there whilst there are US books that cover hiding assets there, there arent' any such for the UK. What are the rules on accountant confidentiality? I'm well aware that under certain circumstances they have obligations to report their clients, for example under the money laundering regualtions and if the Police require infomration from them. I presume there are also court disclosure orders that can be used against them?
You are correct with your statements about confidentiality, money laundering and court orders can place a requirement for disclosure.Many thanks for your post. We all miss off a little bit of tax here and there where it wont be noticed, but on the whole, I've never evaded any substantial tax of any type and have little interest in doing so. My interest is in distancing myself from il-liquid assets which include prperty and company ownership to put them beyond litigation. I have good reasons for doing so in the future that I'd rather not go into here. Going back to my question though, I am very interested in how such schemes work.
In recent years, as an example Nicholas Van Hoogstraten has managed to put his vast wealth beyond reach very effectively and in recent civil proceedigs over his manslaughter case the court hasn't been able to identify his assets including his £30 million mansion Hamilton Palace which is clearly owned by owned by him. I did a bit of digging on Companies House and the Land register and his properties are owned by various UK limited companies. One of the companies named Tombstone Ltd has many proeprties recorded against it in the company Record. The sole sharehoder used to be Nicholas Von Hessen which is an alias he uses for himself although this was enough to put the company and properties beyond the reach of others. How this works I fail to see as there is no such person and surely the company can be traced back to him as he has simply transferred it and I doubt can prove money has exchanged hands. I simply don't see how what he has done has distanced himself from this company, but court proceedings show that it has and that the company coudlnt' be identified as being owned by him. Another example is that of his Uckfield estate High Cross Park which is owned by a company of his called Rarebargain Ltd, but this ownership can't be traced back to him to identify the proeprty as his.
I've tried posting on taxationweb about this before and not got anywhere. It's pretty clear to me that there whilst there are US books that cover hiding assets there, there arent' any such for the UK. What are the rules on accountant confidentiality? I'm well aware that under certain circumstances they have obligations to report their clients, for example under the money laundering regualtions and if the Police require infomration from them. I presume there are also court disclosure orders that can be used against them?
Whilst I don't actually know the route Hoogstraten took, it does sound awfully like an (possibly second hand but probably not in his case) excluded property trust. This exploited residency and domicilliary rules which are something pretty unique to the UK. Rules on domicile and residency are why so many very wealthy individuals locate in the UK, there are many who have incredible wealth yet pay no UK tax of any sort: income, CGT or IHT, though the recent pre budget statement is attempting to do something about it and these rules are constantly speculated about, yet the government are between a rock and a hard place. Change and attempt revenue collections which deters foreign nationals from coming here (or indeed they up sticks and go somewhere more favourable tax wise) or leave as it is and still not collect revenues, hmmm.
Hoogstraten is a Dutch national is he not? From what you describe, I would think it likely that one or more offshore trusts (of some description, excluded property-perhaps) holds the shares which in turn own the various assets you list.
To be specific about your original question, it appears from the limited information available that you will struggle to achieve the goal, especially so if you are UK resident and UK domilciled. Of these, domicile is the key one and also the most difficult to change.
Without intending to appear defensive or mysterious, you really need to have a chat to a professional who specialises in the area-I am not aware of any books that could help you-sorry.
Oh, and Emicen, yes I'm an IFA
(Though I don't consider myself an average one,then again I wouldn't would I!) who specialises in high net worth individuals and IHT avoidance. Being in this field of work requires much crossover knowledge re tax and law. Edited by JD247 on Saturday 10th November 20:29
Thanks for your reply. Hoogstraten was born in Shoreham on Sea. I believe there is Dutch blood in his family. He's lived in teh Bahamas, France and Switzerland but he's a UK national.
Thanks again for your advice.
CIS121 said:
JD247 said:
Hi JD,
Many thanks for your post. We all miss off a little bit of tax here and there where it wont be noticed, but on the whole, I've never evaded any substantial tax of any type and have little interest in doing so. My interest is in distancing myself from il-liquid assets which include prperty and company ownership to put them beyond litigation. I have good reasons for doing so in the future that I'd rather not go into here. Going back to my question though, I am very interested in how such schemes work.
In recent years, as an example Nicholas Van Hoogstraten has managed to put his vast wealth beyond reach very effectively and in recent civil proceedigs over his manslaughter case the court hasn't been able to identify his assets including his £30 million mansion Hamilton Palace which is clearly owned by owned by him. I did a bit of digging on Companies House and the Land register and his properties are owned by various UK limited companies. One of the companies named Tombstone Ltd has many proeprties recorded against it in the company Record. The sole sharehoder used to be Nicholas Von Hessen which is an alias he uses for himself although this was enough to put the company and properties beyond the reach of others. How this works I fail to see as there is no such person and surely the company can be traced back to him as he has simply transferred it and I doubt can prove money has exchanged hands. I simply don't see how what he has done has distanced himself from this company, but court proceedings show that it has and that the company coudlnt' be identified as being owned by him. Another example is that of his Uckfield estate High Cross Park which is owned by a company of his called Rarebargain Ltd, but this ownership can't be traced back to him to identify the proeprty as his.
I've tried posting on taxationweb about this before and not got anywhere. It's pretty clear to me that there whilst there are US books that cover hiding assets there, there arent' any such for the UK. What are the rules on accountant confidentiality? I'm well aware that under certain circumstances they have obligations to report their clients, for example under the money laundering regualtions and if the Police require infomration from them. I presume there are also court disclosure orders that can be used against them?
You are correct with your statements about confidentiality, money laundering and court orders can place a requirement for disclosure.Many thanks for your post. We all miss off a little bit of tax here and there where it wont be noticed, but on the whole, I've never evaded any substantial tax of any type and have little interest in doing so. My interest is in distancing myself from il-liquid assets which include prperty and company ownership to put them beyond litigation. I have good reasons for doing so in the future that I'd rather not go into here. Going back to my question though, I am very interested in how such schemes work.
In recent years, as an example Nicholas Van Hoogstraten has managed to put his vast wealth beyond reach very effectively and in recent civil proceedigs over his manslaughter case the court hasn't been able to identify his assets including his £30 million mansion Hamilton Palace which is clearly owned by owned by him. I did a bit of digging on Companies House and the Land register and his properties are owned by various UK limited companies. One of the companies named Tombstone Ltd has many proeprties recorded against it in the company Record. The sole sharehoder used to be Nicholas Von Hessen which is an alias he uses for himself although this was enough to put the company and properties beyond the reach of others. How this works I fail to see as there is no such person and surely the company can be traced back to him as he has simply transferred it and I doubt can prove money has exchanged hands. I simply don't see how what he has done has distanced himself from this company, but court proceedings show that it has and that the company coudlnt' be identified as being owned by him. Another example is that of his Uckfield estate High Cross Park which is owned by a company of his called Rarebargain Ltd, but this ownership can't be traced back to him to identify the proeprty as his.
I've tried posting on taxationweb about this before and not got anywhere. It's pretty clear to me that there whilst there are US books that cover hiding assets there, there arent' any such for the UK. What are the rules on accountant confidentiality? I'm well aware that under certain circumstances they have obligations to report their clients, for example under the money laundering regualtions and if the Police require infomration from them. I presume there are also court disclosure orders that can be used against them?
Whilst I don't actually know the route Hoogstraten took, it does sound awfully like an (possibly second hand but probably not in his case) excluded property trust. This exploited residency and domicilliary rules which are something pretty unique to the UK. Rules on domicile and residency are why so many very wealthy individuals locate in the UK, there are many who have incredible wealth yet pay no UK tax of any sort: income, CGT or IHT, though the recent pre budget statement is attempting to do something about it and these rules are constantly speculated about, yet the government are between a rock and a hard place. Change and attempt revenue collections which deters foreign nationals from coming here (or indeed they up sticks and go somewhere more favourable tax wise) or leave as it is and still not collect revenues, hmmm.
Hoogstraten is a Dutch national is he not? From what you describe, I would think it likely that one or more offshore trusts (of some description, excluded property-perhaps) holds the shares which in turn own the various assets you list.
To be specific about your original question, it appears from the limited information available that you will struggle to achieve the goal, especially so if you are UK resident and UK domilciled. Of these, domicile is the key one and also the most difficult to change.
Without intending to appear defensive or mysterious, you really need to have a chat to a professional who specialises in the area-I am not aware of any books that could help you-sorry.
Oh, and Emicen, yes I'm an IFA
(Though I don't consider myself an average one,then again I wouldn't would I!) who specialises in high net worth individuals and IHT avoidance. Being in this field of work requires much crossover knowledge re tax and law. Edited by JD247 on Saturday 10th November 20:29
Thanks for your reply. Hoogstraten was born in Shoreham on Sea. I believe there is Dutch blood in his family. He's lived in teh Bahamas, France and Switzerland but he's a UK national.
Thanks again for your advice.
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