Financial spread betting in the UK and Ireland has become a popular choice among international investors for its “taxation free” status in these jurisdictions. Along with high winning margins, spread betting in the UK and Ireland allow punters to retain their gross winning, without suffering any kind of taxation or withholding.

Yet, this situation may not always be the case for investors that are non UK residents for tax purposes as these profits could be taxed in their local tax jurisdiction.

Some countries may establish that resident taxpayers will be subject to local income tax for their worldwide income, levying any income that they obtain from their foreign operations. In these cases, non-resident spread betting profits could be potentially taxed in their home country if their local legislation considers their winnings to be a ‘taxable profit’, even when, for UK and Ireland purposes, they are considered to be exempt.

From this perspective, Gambling Compliance analyses the potential tax treatment of spread betting profits in jurisdictions such as Australia, Spain and Germany, where spread betting is becoming very popular.