Aberdeen Asian Income trust eyes UK tax residency

£1.5m total tax expenses for first half of the year

The £492.2m Aberdeen Asian Income trust is looking to migrate its tax residence to the UK from Jersey to avail of lower rates, after it had total expenses of £1.5m for the first six months of the year.

In a stock exchange announcement the board said it had been advised it can "access lower rates of withholding tax" as a UK tax resident because of "a greater number of double tax treaty agreements between the UK and overseas jurisdictions". The trust is currently a Jersey tax resident and will remain a Jersey-incorporated entity even if its tax residency changes. The change of tax residence would "increase the revenue of the company available for distribution to shareholders and there should be no material disruption to the company's operations", according to the board. The decisio...