"Tax doesn't need to be taxing," say HM Revenue & Customs. But it is. Take something as basic as whether you are liable to pay UK tax. This isn't necessarily determined by where you were born, or where you currently live, but whether you are classified by HMRC as a "UK resident" or a "UK domicile" two very different concepts.
A UK resident is taxed here on their worldwide, not just UK, income and capital gains, and there are a number of tests for residence. First off you are taxed on income and gains arising during the whole fiscal year the current one started on 6 April 2008 and will end on 5 April 2009 if you spend just half (183 days) or more of it in Britain. However, other tests for "ordinary residence" can also trap regular visitors who are careful to spend less than half of any single fiscal year here. For example, anyone who regularly averages three months or more here per fiscal year is potentially liable too.
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