Latvia's top ten ranking for pension transfers from the UK in 2009/10, despite few British expats retiring there, suggests the country is being used to abuse tax loopholes, AJ Bell said.
The Baltic nation was the most popular country for qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme (QROPS) transfers from the UK, excluding countries where English is the first language. The figures were obtained by AJ Bell from the Treasury under a freedom of information request. However, a survey of British expats conducted by Natwest in April did not list Latvia as a top location for retirement. Gareth James, technical marketing manager at AJ Bell, said the fact Latvia is not a popular retirement spot suggests QROPS based in the country were being used as tax loopholes. "Unless...
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