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About 900,000 UK citizens are long-term residents abroad, and it is no particular surprise that they may be less careful about managing their UK tax affairs than those who live in the UK. Many foreign residents retain UK properties, and when these are sold a Capital Gains Tax (CGT) return in respect of the sale must (since 6 April 2015) be filed with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) within 30 days of the disposal. This applies even if no CGT liability results. Note that this is different from the...

In a consultation paper published just before the December holiday season, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which is the Government department that deals with child maintenance payment arrangements, outlined significant powers that would enable it to better enforce the payment of child maintenance. Arrears of payments can cause very significant hardship to those who rely on them. The Government estimates that it would cost more than £1.5 billion to collect the outstanding arrears. Among the powers being sought are that DWP officials would be permitted to confiscate the...

You might think that something as seemingly simple as buying a pitch for a caravan is straightforward enough to do yourself, but a recent example shows why no sensible person would consider entering into a property transaction without employing a specialist lawyer. A man who went ahead and paid £3,000 for a caravan pitch entirely wasted his money because he failed to appreciate that contracts for the sale of land must comply with strict rules. The pitch had, at least in theory, changed hands twice before the man bought it....

After a ghastly year for flight delays, with British Airways suffering two major IT failures, Ryanair's problems with aircrew rotas and air traffic control disputes, a recent report reveals that nearly £400 million in claims could have been made for travel disruption or delay in the 11 months to November 2017. Popular destinations such as Malaga and Dublin led the way in terms of delays. Domestic flights to Edinburgh and Glasgow also showed elevated delay and cancellation rates. The amount of compensation delayed passengers are entitled to depends on both the...