Background Note
10.Under the TCGA, for capital gains tax purposes, gains and losses can arise on foreign currency bank accounts because the calculation must be made in sterling. If the exchange rate between sterling and the foreign currency in question changes between the time when the money was put into the account and the time when it is taken out, a gain or loss will arise.
11.At Budget 2011 the Government announced that it would reform the taxation of non-domiciled individuals, including measures to simplify aspects of the current remittance basis rules to remove undue administrative burdens. "Reform of the taxation of non-domiciled individuals: a consultation", issued on 17 June 2011, included a proposal to remove gains and losses on individuals’ foreign currency bank accounts from the scope of capital gains tax (CGT).
12.This section implements the simplification, and extends the exemption from CGT to trustees and personal representatives.
13.The original section 252 TCGA limits the exemption from CGT for foreign currency bank accounts to cases where individuals withdraw money that they have put into their account for personal expenditure abroad. The new section 252 replaces this with a broader exemption.
