Are my earnings from Canada subject to capital gains tax?

Q I recently left an employee-owned Canadian company and subsequently received payment of around US$35,000 (after eventual payment from Revenue Canada).

I believe that some of this will be subject to capital gains tax, presumably when it enters the UK. If l were to invest the cheque in an offshore in a dollar account, could l minimise my capital gains tax liability by converting some of the funds into sterling in one tax year and the rest in the following year?

MJ

A My feeling is that you do not have a problem, because l don't think the payment you received abroad is liable to UK capital gains tax, especially as you appear to have paid tax to the Canadian authorities. There is a double tax agreement between the two countries to avoid people being taxed twice. In any event there is nothing to prevent you putting the money off-shore, indeed it seems a good idea, so that you can choose your time to bring it back to the UK. However, it won't help if there is a capital gains tax since that will occur during the year the gain occurred-not on when the money is brought back to the UK. If you are living in Britain you will have a liability to declare any income earned in an offshore account for income tax purposes, although it might be in roll-over growth fund when you only pay tax when monies are remitted to the UK but at your highest rate of income tax.