Equity Release for UK Home Owners was also publicized for Inheritance Tax mitigation purposes, supposedly in compliance with English tax laws on the matter. But was it also a time-bomb, like the Spanish devious taxman depicted is openly warning us all?
How come no Spanish bank ever offered such a revolutionary product to national taxpayers?
Did they know something the very clever Luxembourg-based Scandinavians milking hard-working Spanish-based British expats missed?
Were Spanish banks so inept at marketing that Rothschild had to fly out to teach them a few things on successful new-product launching?
Documents
Now you have really confused me. Are Hamiltons stating that although they are operating in Spain, they can help you save inheritance tax in the UK if you own a property there. Is this permitted by the UK Authorities or do Hamiltons also have an office in the UK that was registered by the then Financial Services Authority. In the UK I thought that IHT is part of the whole estate where the tax would be applicable and not individual beneficiaries on death of the owner of the estate. The next exhibit asks if you own a property in Spain are they saying that by taking out equity release on this property you will reduce the IHT/estate value thereby paying less tax or are they saying that the IHT savings would be in Spain. Confused I am. We already know that the Spanish Tax Office has ruled that you cannot save taxes by so called mortgaging your unencumbered property and to do so for the explicit pupose of evading taxes is indeed tax fraud. I can understand the second exhibit in one respect and that is the tax man will certainly be knocking on your door if you do not pay wealth tax on the whole amount of the value of your property. One thing is for certain, is it any wonder why so many expat pensioners were confused and conned by Hamiltons in taking out these obnoxious equity release products. Can someone out there thrown any light on my confusion.
Sorry Karen, I can’t help you. I am as confused as you are. They cannot be talking about the UK though, can they? I thought I read somewhere that Equity Release Schemes that incorporated some financial investment angle had been declared illegal in the UK. My recolection is that the West Bromich Building Society was fined by the then City Watchdog back in 1999 and as a result the West Bromich Building Society had to pay some £30 million in either compensation or fine . So they would not be stupid enough to try that one. Then again who knows what these cowboys do when the dollar signs in commissions and bonuses are in their eyes. Perhaps erva can shed some light on this or better still some of the victims of Hamiltons and their partners in crime Rothschild. I would love to hear their story.
Actually, it was the West Bromwich Building Society case that led me to comment on ERVA in the first place.
This was an interest roll-up equity release scheme that was marketed to the over 60s in 1989/90, predominately via an IFA firm called Fisher Prew-Smith of Southport ( Mr Prew-Smith had a run in with Roger Cook of the Cook Report). The firm invested the released funds into investments with a now defunct firm called Ruben Walter. Of course, interest rates went up, property prices fell and the investment advice was questionable to say the least. All ended up in court and hit the headlines.
Investors Compensation Scheme v. West Bromwich Building Society, et al., High Court of Justice (Chancery Div.), Case No. WL 42/98 (decision of Mr. Justice Evans-Lombe filed Jan. 15, 1999).
So, for the life of me, I cannot understand how anyone involved in financial services could even consider putting such a proposition together, given the history of these products.
Philip Wood the IFA who worked for Hamiltons is one of the deaths in Mijas reported in the press this morning.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/costa-del-sol-british-dad-2000012