At the end of last year the Government proposed new rules to enable non-doms to bring works of art to the UK for sale, without triggering tax liabilities on the offshore income and gains used to buy the art.
The big problem was that any capital gain realised on a sale in the UK would be subject to tax at 28%. The proposal, which was intended to boost the UK auction market was, accordingly, dead in the water.
The Finance Bill now contains promised provisions which, effectively, exempt the individual from capital gains tax on a UK sale provided he removes the proceeds of the sale from the UK or uses the proceeds to invest in qualifying UK investments.
These new provisions remove the tax penalty of selling art in the UK and should provide a helpful boost to the UK art market.