The Spanish Chamber of Commerce was thrilled to work with Blick Rothenberg to organise the “Tips for Spanish Companies sending expats to UK” seminar, held at their premises on Thursday 31st January.
The event kicked off with a warm welcome both from Igor Urra, Secretary General of the Spanish Chamber, and Blick Rothenberg partners Simon Wagman and Mark Abbs – also the speaker for this seminar. They highlighted the importance of maintaining a good relationship in order to build on a business platform to discuss similar topics at future events.
Mark Abbs covered different tax-related issues with a focus on Spanish expat employees.
The seminar provided a general overview on the relevant aspects to consider when Spanish companies decide to open a branch in the UK sending employees from Spain covering issues some companies may not always be aware of. How the tax legislation should be implemented among their staff; when UK tax is due, when a tax needs to be considered through remuneration or as exemption, and how the role of UK payroll withholding system and how it works.
Afterwards, Mark got into the full swing of the event, mingling with attendees willing answering different questions about this interesting and in many ways unknown topic. He explained what the UK-Spanish tax treaty consists of and he acknowledged the fact that some of the elements can be confusing when dealing with a tax issue.
In fact, as Mark pointed out, many people think that it is possible to avoid UK tax if you are paying Spanish tax or if you have a Spanish employer or payroll, this is not necessarily the case and all tax claims must be backed up by evidence. A lot of this is dependent upon how long the working period is in the UK or whether the employee is a UK resident or not.
Attendees exchanged and shared their ideas at the networking breakfast.
The event ended up as always with a productive networking breakfast, time when attendees and speakers alike were able to come together, share thoughts and discuss further the ideas the seminar had covered. Needless to say this bit provided a wonderful opportunity to make business contacts, which are always welcome.
The Spanish Chamber would like to thank all attendees for joining us and particularly Blick Rothenberg for hosting the event at their premises. If you were in attendance, please let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment.
For further news about Chamber events, previous seminars and announcements please browse our blog.
