Iain leads the Wealth Management team. He specialises in tax, trust, probate, charities, wealth protection and related commercial advice and advises leading accountancy firms, charities, businesses and individuals of high-net worth on tax, wealth protection and financial risk management issues.
Iain has extensive experience in developing tax structures, tax mitigation and negotiation with Inland Revenue (mainly IHT, CGT, Income Tax and SDLT) and application and use of the Sportsmen and Entertainer tax rules. He also offers expert advice on the interim management of business following death/incapacity of the owners and related estate administration, including literary estates.
His expertise also includes planning for succession of businesses and property investment companies, mental incapacity issues, charity transactions trading and reorganisation, domicile and residency for tax purposes as well as advising on tracing claims against trustees and personal representatives and off shore trustees.
In April 2013 there will be a change to inheritance tax which may be a welcome boon to couples where one spouse is non-UK-domiciled. (In this blog I will use spouses to mean both spouses and civil partners.) There are several inheritance tax reliefs. The most useful is the spouse exemption, which exempts transfers and… Learn more
High street discounter Poundworld has recently launched a wholesale website to cater for smaller retailers. At a time when the high street is in decline, Poundworld’s success has been exceptional: it now has more than 180 stores and earlier this month announced that its grocery sales increased by 87.7 per cent over the 12 months… Learn more
According to recent research from marketing company Vanson Bourne, wholesale distribution companies are expecting to see revenues from direct sales increase by £16bn in 2012. The research, based on economic models provided by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, has predicted that the value of the wholesale sector will increase from £93bn in 2011… Learn more
There have been a number of changes in the last week to the taxation of vouchers for VAT. In light of the ECJ decision published on 3 May has caused HMRC to react with some new legislation published which was published yesterday (10 May 2012). We have published some articles on this in www.AccountingWeb.co.uk http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/article/change-law-following-lebara-vat-case/527332… Learn more
In a report published on 14 December 2011, the Law Commission has put forward its recommendations to reform the intestacy rules and the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. When a person dies “intestate” (i.e. dies without leaving a valid Will that disposes of the deceased’s estate), the distribution of that person’s assets… Learn more
A parliamentary commencement order will bring sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Estates of Deceased Persons (Forfeiture Rule and Law of Succession) Act 2011 into force on 1 February 2012. These sections incorporate the main changes. The Act received Royal Assent in July 2011 (click here for details) and preserves the succession rights of… Learn more
There have been a couple of interesting developments concerning two blogs I posted a few weeks ago, concerning plans for the integration of UK income tax and national insurance, and possible EU legal action against Spain for discriminatory inheritance tax laws. In its recent second annual report on the competitiveness of the UK tax system,… Learn more
The Government has set out its plans for the reform of income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs.) In March 2011, the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) published its interim report on the simplification of the tax treatment of small businesses. In it, the OTS recommended that the income tax and NICs regimes should be… Learn more
On 4 July 2011, the Dilnot Commission on Funding of Care and Support published its report on the adult social care system. In its coalition agreement, published in July 2010, the Government stated that there was an urgent need to reform the social care system, so that individuals and carers had more control over care.… Learn more
In a move that will be of interest to people who have assets or property in Spain, the European Commission has referred Spain to the European Court of Justice because its inheritance and gift tax provisions can potentially discriminate against non-residents. Inheritance and gift tax in Spain are regulated at both state level and at… Learn more