Switzerland
Switzerland is probably one of the first countries that spring to mind when people think of tax havens. In fact, the French-speaking cantons in Switzerland are said to be seeing unprecedented numbers of Brits looking to buy property in the country.

Switzerland doesn’t like being described a tax haven, however many rich and famous people have moved there thanks to the favourable taxation system. Famous residents include F1 driver Lewis Hamilton and music legend David Bowie. Just over a fifth of the country’s population are actually non-Swiss.

Although Switzerland has now adopted tax-sharing principles set out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which means the country will disclose more data about money in the country, it is not likely to impact much on Switzerland’s tax appeal.

The top tax break is the lump-sum concession which is only available to those who don’t work in the country. Here, people pay tax acceding to annual living costs rather than income with the living costs figure based on five times the person’s predicted or actual rental income. This is taxed at 40%. For those who don’t qualify for this, income tax is based on all income plus a percentage of rental income based on the value of their property. Wealth tax is usually around one percent of net assets, although this figure varies from canton to canton. Property tax is set at 0.001 percent of property value.

Mauritius
Until very recently, foreign residents could not buy property in Mauritius however the government have bought new laws in which give automatic residency to anyone buying freehold. Mauritius boasts no inheritance or capital gains tax, and income tax is set at 15%.

Guernsey
Guernsey has a two-tier property scheme to ensure locals are still able to buy easily. As an overseas property buyer you can buy or rent one of 1,600 properties on the open market scheme. This will then entitle you to residency and therefore allow you to take advantage of the tax such as income tax cap of just 20%.

Jersey
Non-Jersey residents are required to generate enough income to pay £100,000 in income tax. Income tax is set at 20%. Jersey has no capital gains tax or inheritance tax. The one drawback is residency if very difficult to achieve.

Malta
Malta is now a member of the EU and it is easy for Brits to become residents. There is no minimum amount of time that you must spend in the country and income tax is just 15%. If you would like to qualify for residency, you must buy a house worth 116,000 Euros or more or a flat worth 69,000 Euros or more. There is no capital gains tax or inheritance tax on your main property.

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