Problem with using a UK company if going overseas

This is something that many people overlook, but given the number of people emigrating and working from overseas (eg telecommuting) it's well worth bearing in mind. Imagine this. You write a few e-books and decide to sell them over the internet. As you live in the UK you know all about the advantages of a UK company and therefore transfer the rights to the books to the company at start up and trade via the UK company. Five years later, the company has become profitable, and generates royalties of £75K per annum. You have got sick of life in the UK and want to move to Cyprus. There is no problem with you personally moving to Cyprus, the downside is that the e-books are locked in the UK company. Any transfer of the e-books out of the UK company would crystallise a gain in the UK company, based on the market value of the books (likely to be substantial if they're generating £75K pa) and the original acquisition cost (nominal). Therefore the fact that you never set foot in the UK would not stop the UK taxman taking 20% of the profits of the UK royalty company. The fact that Cyprus is generally regarded as a royalty tax haven wouldn't matter to you as you wouldn't be able to take advantage of it (at least not without incurring a hefty tax cost). The other downside of retaining a UK company is that you can't completely sever your ties with the UK, as you'll still be in receipt of UK dividends. You could incorporate an overseas company to hold the shares but this is 'messy'. If you're trading personally you won't have any of these problems. There is no deemed disposal of assets when you cease to be UK resident (unlike in many countries) and you could just carry out the trade from overseas. Provided you have no UK trade there will then be no UK tax charges.