successful traders and spread betting

[forker]

i have a question i would like to direct at the minority crowd on this forum (the consistent traders) I am looking to reign in my taxes on profits because as of April this year i will officially be raped good and proper by the tax man. I just am not willing to take all the risk to give them half my profits. They don't deserve a penny from me and i am looking for a viable answer (apart from moving abroad)

So my question is directed to full time spread betters that have made and continue to make a living off spread betting for more than 2 years. a long time ago i denied myself SB because it just didn't add up as being a valid canvas for a profitable trader. I have heard all the horror stories but it is difficult to filter the valid from novice traders emotional outrages.

So let me give a little background. i trade only daily charts, holding trades anything from 1 day to 2 weeks. i currently trade $50 per point. i currently trade through an ECN. i enter trades 3-5 times a month.

So is there a viable SB i can use. i don't want to run into any (sorry sir we have to close your account because we cannot make money off you, is this a genuine story or just the usual bull5hit stories spread) or ( finding trades closed on their own or any odd behaviour in the system) i don't know much about SB firms so i am looking for answers on who (SB fim) is good, and if my style of trading and consistency will be acceptable to them.

 

[tomorton]

Technically there is no reason why you can't be as successful at SB as any other method. Need to allow for their quotes spiking a little and additional volatility of quotes beyond underlying instrument's prices.

Re your tax situation, are you taling about Capital Gains Tax? Surely this should never be half your profits?

 

[Black Swan]

Forker, I have replied to your PM on the issues not mentioned on this post, hope it helps. The subject of tax/SB has been done to death on 'ere, similarly if you Google you'll find a weatlh of info.
Your style/method is completely suited to SB, the quoted prices/spikes are generally no better/worse with SB than with my brokers FXCM + Alpari (bar a couple of pips which makes little odds when you're swing trading). If there were huge 'gaps' some clever folk would exploit that anyhow...and a few of us would be right at the front of the Q..
Believe me, there are regular spread-betters who take premiership footballer salaries out of the market using the SB firms, however, you move up to 100 quid a pip and try and play 'em off 3-5 min TFs and you'll be on dealer referall in a heartbeat..you stay on £50pp, on 2-4hr/dailys, and you'll have no issues, why would you?

 

[forker]

Technically there is no reason why you can't be as successful at SB as any other method. Need to allow for their quotes spiking a little and additional volatility of quotes beyond underlying instrument's prices.

Re your tax situation, are you taling about Capital Gains Tax? Surely this should never be half your profits?

hey Tomorton

i went down the route of personal trading as advised by an accountant so that i could offset my losses. this has been good to date but i was advised to change because from april this year my profit would be taxed at a rate of 40-50% (personal income). now i could go down the route of trading through a company (around 22% tax) but i thought screw it i want to find a way to get around it altogether. now my accountant is dodgy so the info i have given you here may or may not be relevant. regardless of this fact i am keen on SB.

 

[forker]

Forker, I have replied to your PM on the issues not mentioned on this post, hope it helps. The subject of tax/SB has been done to death on 'ere, similarly if you Google you'll find a weatlh of info.
Your style/method is completely suited to SB, the quoted prices/spikes are generally no better/worse with SB than with my brokers FXCM + Alpari (bar a couple of pips which makes little odds when you're swing trading). If there were huge 'gaps' some clever folk would exploit that anyhow...and a few of us would be right at the front of the Q..
Believe me, there are regular spread-betters who take premiership footballer salaries out of the market using the SB firms, however, you move up to 100 quid a pip and try and play 'em off 3-5 min TFs and you'll be on dealer referall in a heartbeat..you stay on £50pp, on 2-4hr/dailys, and you'll have no issues, why would you?

Thanks Black Swan, this is the type of confirmation i was looking for. :smart:

 

[tomorton]

hey Tomorton

i went down the route of personal trading as advised by an accountant so that i could offset my losses. this has been good to date but i was advised to change because from april this year my profit would be taxed at a rate of 40-50% (personal income). now i could go down the route of trading through a company (around 22% tax) but i thought screw it i want to find a way to get around it altogether. now my accountant is dodgy so the info i have given you here may or may not be relevant. regardless of this fact i am keen on SB.

Hmmm. This says a good deal about the Byzantine UK tax system. My accountant on the other hand said he could produce cases where traders had been in the market 70+ times per day and had no other visible income, and HMRC still would not allow them to be income taxed as self-employed. I am therefore subject to just 18% CGT on sharedealing profits (i.e. on the gains of course, not on the capital) above the annual threshold and zero tax on the SB. Suits me.