Transferring shares

[oldun]

Good morning one and all, and greetings from a wet, cold and gloomy Southampton - yes it is trenchfoot seasons once more,

We have shares in a couple of UK and international firms; our intention has always been to draw on them closer to retirement, when we needed them and in amounts (on a yearly basis) that would avoid the Capital gains tax.

We are now in the process of emigrating under a CPV (son and daughter thought they could get away, but little did they know...). We are only at the stage where the application has been accepted, but looking ahead to a successful outcome I am starting to look into all the financial implications.

The question is, will we need to transfer our shares to an Oz system or can we still do as we intended - perhaps cash shares in through the UK then transfer through someone like moneycorp to our Oz account or even just cash them in directly in Oz; the main issue would be to not have to pay, or pay as little as possible in capital gains tax or equivalent.

Any ideas/answers/messages of general love appreciated.

cheers

Chris

[Rupert]

There is no requirement to move your money or assets to Australia just because you get a visa and move there yourself. The capital gain is the capital gain, the only sure way to avoid it is to make a loss, which would not be very smart.

[Mark 1234]

Are these stock exchange shares? If so, the question makes no sense. They can't be transferred or cashed in. Only sold.

[Bobj]

Are these stock exchange shares? If so, the question makes no sense. They can't be transferred or cashed in. Only sold.

 

http://www.companylawclub.co.uk/topics/transferring_shares.shtml

 

http://www.informdirect.co.uk/blog/2013/5/15/how-to-transfer-shares-a-step-by-step-guide/

 

Cheers, Bobj.

[Mark 1234]

Your random Google links are a totally different scenario.

[Bobj]

Your random Google links are a totally different scenario.

 

Why? You made a categorical statement that shares cannot be transferred, or sold. I merely differed on your statement. So, I see it as you are giving false information.

 

Best thing is for the OP to check with their broker.

 

Cheers, Bobj.

[Mark 1234]

The links you posted concern transfer of shares directly from a company board to a transferee. This is done when a company is not SX listed. This is misleading information if the OP has SX shares.

[Gbye grey sky]

Good morning one and all, and greetings from a wet, cold and gloomy Southampton - yes it is trenchfoot seasons once more,

We have shares in a couple of UK and international firms; our intention has always been to draw on them closer to retirement, when we needed them and in amounts (on a yearly basis) that would avoid the Capital gains tax.

We are now in the process of emigrating under a CPV (son and daughter thought they could get away, but little did they know...). We are only at the stage where the application has been accepted, but looking ahead to a successful outcome I am starting to look into all the financial implications.

The question is, will we need to transfer our shares to an Oz system or can we still do as we intended - perhaps cash shares in through the UK then transfer through someone like moneycorp to our Oz account or even just cash them in directly in Oz; the main issue would be to not have to pay, or pay as little as possible in capital gains tax or equivalent.

Any ideas/answers/messages of general love appreciated.

cheers

Chris

 

I suspect that you are going to have to pay for the right advice. What you primarily need to know is the difference in tax treatment to CGs in Oz. i.e. is there a tax-free threshold as in the UK? The sums of money involved would appear to indicate that mistakes could be costly. It is almost certain that other financial factors will come into play too if you, say, have a personal pension for example. I have always been DIY with tax in the UK but trying to learn a whole new set of rules is not easy.

[Bobj]

The links you posted concern transfer of shares directly from a company board to a transferee. This is done when a company is not SX listed. This is misleading information if the OP has SX shares.

 

Appreciate the explanation,mate.:yes:

 

Cheers, Bobj.

[oldun]

Many thanks all for your advice on this - a tricky issue. By the way, sorry for the poor phrasing, when I said Cashed In, I meant Sold. That's what happens when you speaks bad England like wot I does.

I will need to look to professional advice I think.

cheers

Chris

[Alan Collett]

You get an uplift in the CGT base cost when you become a tax resident of Australia, to the value of the investment when you become a tax resident of Australia.

 

Watch the CGT position in the UK though if you are planning to sell after departing - there's no split year treatment for capital gains in the way there is for income tax.

 

Best regards.

[oldun]

Thanks Alan. I have done a little bit more research and discovered there are some ways and means of avoiding CGT. As you know, I have some time yet.

cheers

Chris

[Mark 1234]

Many thanks all for your advice on this - a tricky issue. By the way, sorry for the poor phrasing, when I said Cashed In, I meant Sold. That's what happens when you speaks bad England like wot I does.

I will need to look to professional advice I think.

cheers

Chris

 

Oldun, If you use an online brokerage service then you can handle the sale of shares from anywhere in the world. I use Etrade. With regards to tax on profits, I can't comment as I still hold all my shares. The leading SX/shares site in Oz is hotcopper.com.au I would suggest you sign up and enquire on their general board. The users and moderators are very, very knowledgeable.

[Blade17]

If I were you I would not alter your plans just for tax sake, but just do some tax planning before you come to Oz. Shares are listed on whichever stock exchange they are listed on (London, New York, Paris etc) and some have dual listings in two countries, but you won't "transfer" them to Oz. What I did is send all my paper-based share certificates to an online share broker where they are now held in electronic form in a 'nominee' account, so that you can buy/sell online easily with no hassle. My share broker does not charge a bean for this service. There is no equivalent to the UK CGT allowance here in Oz, but you do get a generous tax-free allowance each year which would mean the first $x of income from whatever source would be free of tax here. Depending on your UK pension, the tax free allowance might be enough to mop up all or some of your capital gains. The important thing (if you trust your spouse not to run off with the Aussie milkman) (or vice versa depending on who owns the shares) is to re-arrange your assets before you come to Oz, so that both you and your spouse make maximum use of both of your tax free allowances here. This is easily done because whilst in the UK you can transfer shares between spouses (need to fill in a stock transfer form) without the transfer being treated as CGT event. You should do all of this before you leave the UK because I think it would be difficult to achieve from Oz without loads of hassle and cost. Then, when you come to Oz, the value of the shares on the day you land in Oz becomes the base cost of the shares for Australian CGT purposes, so you are only subject to Oz tax on any future gain above this valuation. In future, if you sell parcels of your shares each year you will benefit from tax free amounts in both UK and Oz. If you decide to do this, give yourself a couple of months before you leave UK - I did this and now manage shares online. Amounts involved for me and my OH were not very high, so i did not take advice (other than hours of internet research) but if your amounts are high, then best to get some professional advice to make sure you do it properly.