Apologies in advance if the info in this thread is a little vague ...
In a nutshell, it seems likely that my husband is in line to inherit from a distant relative a substantial amount of shares (currently valued in the low six figures in euro). As far as I can work out - and this is still a little murky - the company was initially incorporated in the UK, so the shares were bought in sterling, but was then subsequently floated (IPO) in Canada, so value is now in Canadian dollars.
If we do come into the inheritence, the idea would preferably be to sell the shares asap, a) because the share price is very volatile at the moment and its unclear what way things will go over the next year or so and b) because hubby has been recently made redundant, so having a lump sum to either put on deposit to help with day to day expenditure or to pay off a big chunk of the mortgage is a priority right now.
So, question is; does anyone know how the capital gains from the sale of the shares would be taxed? My DH is adamant (without having any professional advice, I should point add) that it would be taxed as capital gains, i.e. at 20%. However, I have seen references to deposit interest on overseas bank accounts being liable for tax at the applicable rate of income tax, which would I guuess be 41% (I am on higher rate, as was my husband before his redundancy)?
Does anyone have any idea? Or do I need to consult a tax accountant - in which case, can anyone make a recommendation?
Thanks in advance
In a nutshell, it seems likely that my husband is in line to inherit from a distant relative a substantial amount of shares (currently valued in the low six figures in euro). As far as I can work out - and this is still a little murky - the company was initially incorporated in the UK, so the shares were bought in sterling, but was then subsequently floated (IPO) in Canada, so value is now in Canadian dollars.
If we do come into the inheritence, the idea would preferably be to sell the shares asap, a) because the share price is very volatile at the moment and its unclear what way things will go over the next year or so and b) because hubby has been recently made redundant, so having a lump sum to either put on deposit to help with day to day expenditure or to pay off a big chunk of the mortgage is a priority right now.
So, question is; does anyone know how the capital gains from the sale of the shares would be taxed? My DH is adamant (without having any professional advice, I should point add) that it would be taxed as capital gains, i.e. at 20%. However, I have seen references to deposit interest on overseas bank accounts being liable for tax at the applicable rate of income tax, which would I guuess be 41% (I am on higher rate, as was my husband before his redundancy)?
Does anyone have any idea? Or do I need to consult a tax accountant - in which case, can anyone make a recommendation?
Thanks in advance