James Hanson

UK brokerage firms typically overpay French dividend withholding tax by choosing to pool clients' holdings into a corporate structure that attracts French dividend withholding at 25%, rather than at the 12.8% individual rate, or at 15% that is the rate capped by the double taxation treaty between the the UK and France. In order to reclaim this overpayment it will be necessary to complete a French 'form 5000' and 'form 5001' for each dividend-issuing company. These forms need to be validated by HMRC (to confirm UK tax residency) and by the company issuing the dividend, before being submitted to the French tax authority. How can I request such validation from HMRC? Do others have any experience in reclaiming overpayment from the French tax authority? This general issue appears to apply to UK domiciled holdings in all foreign shares, except US or Canadian shares, when a W8-BEN form has been completed. Brokerages simplify there own operations at the cost to the individual investors.

Hi Do shares listed on a foreign stock exchange (e.g. EuroNext Paris) but held within a UK broker trading account count as UK assets for IHT considerations? Thanks.

If a portfolio of listed equities is moved from a French custodian to a UK custodian as an in-specie transfer, without any change in ownership could there be any UK CGT liability?