Tax Forum :: Free Tax Advice

Hi,

I am an Internationally Mobile Employee.

I was transferred to Hong Kong to work full time at a Swiss Bank’s Hong Kong office in Aug 2009, and went back to work at its London office (UK) in Nov 2012. In Feb 2014, I was relocated back to its Hong Kong office (full time work), and have worked in Hong Kong since then. I have always been UK non-dom, and not ordinarily resident.

In Jan 2010, 2011 and 2012, while I was non-UK resident, I was awarded the Swiss bank’s restricted shares (to be vested in equal tranches in 3 years time).

In May 2013, some of these shares were vested and the company paid the shares into my US e-trade account, I did not remit any of these shares back to the UK.

My question is, do these shares (vested in May 2013 while I was UK resident) qualify as foreign securities income (as I was granted these shares as a non resident back in 2010, 2011 and 2012), and should not be subject to UK income tax?

I understand the new ERS rules comes into effect in April 2015, and the new rules will not be grandfathered for tax years before April 2015. Is this understanding correct?

Thanks very much for your advice and help.

the UK tax treatment would really depend on the type of shares/share plan. Assuming that you are non-UK tax resident at the award of the restricted shares and were not UK tax resident at any point from grant of the award through to vesting then there shouldn't be any UK tax payable on vesting.

At the grant time, I was non resident; at vesting time, I was UK non dom resident. The shares vested are Swiss bank shares. Vesting time is May 2014, before the new ERS rrules came into effect in April 2014.

Any view on my question please? Is the share income I received while resident in UK when vested (but granted to me when I was non resident) chargeable at all? All these happened before Apr 2015 new rules came into effect. Thanks a lot.