British expats to pay income tax

British expats in UAE and the wider region may be liable to pay income tax in England upon their return. Financial analysts say that professionals who shuttle between UK and UAE for a period of more than 20 days per tax year could be asked to pay tax on their global income. “The rules say that you should work no more than 20 days in the UK otherwise you could be UK resident and what that means is that you are liable [to pay taxes] on your worldwide income,” Spencer Lodge, regional director at financial advisory PIC deVere, told regional media. Pertinently expatriates who are in full time employment overseas and spend more than 90 days in the UK will also be liable to pay. “Even if they work full time in the GCC but they are back in the UK for an extended period - more than 90 days - they could be caught for UK residency,” said Lodge. The rules are likely to be enacted from 6 April 2012, as residency and domicile rules in Great Britain get more stringent. As per the Institute for Public Policy Research more than 5.6 million Britishers live abroad while another half a million live abroad for part of the year.