A look back at the most read stories on eprivateclient this week...
Monday
The 2021 eprivateclient Top Family Law Firms were unveiled with 59 firms featuring across two tables - boutique family law firms and full service law firms.
HMRC is currently investigating 153 suspected “enablers of tax evasion” including unregulated tax advisers according to law firm RPC who said that cracking down on “enablers of tax evasion” has been a key area of focus for HMRC since it established its Fraud Investigation Service in 2015.
Tuesday
International law firm Withers added two partners to its London office, including private client specialist Hannah Wailoo who joined as a tax and wealth planning partner from Trowers & Hamlins. Ms Wailoo specialises in succession and personal tax planning for domestic and international individuals, families, trustees and family offices.
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) court committed a Chinese resident to prison indefinitely. The contemnor litigant was sentenced for her failure to withdraw or discontinue Chinese proceedings (the committal order), which are the subject of a BVI anti-suit injunction, offshore fiduciary services group Maples Group uncovered.
Wednesday
UK law firm Wedlake Bell expanded its private client, intellectual property and data protection teams with the addition of three new partners. Charles Wang joined from Rosenblatt whilst Charlotte Wilding & Alexander Dittel both moved from Deloitte and previously Kemp Little.
Rival UK law firm Fladgate hired Kate Troup, a financial services lawyer with 20 years of industry experience, as a new partner within the firm’s funds, finance and regulation (FFR) practice. Ms Troup joined Fladgate from Charles Russell Speechlys, where she worked for over 11 years as a partner in the firm’s financial services team.
Thursday
JTC Private Office appointed Nic Arnold from PwC as its new UK head as the business continues to grow. In this role, Ms Arnold will be responsible for the strategic development and performance of JTC Private Office’s family office services proposition in the UK.
The world's largest 500 family businesses generated US$7.28 trillion in revenues, employing 24.1 million people across 45 jurisdictions. These and other findings have been published in the 2021 EY and University of St. Gallen Family Business Index which revealed how the largest family-owned businesses have responded to the recent turbulence in the global economy.
Friday
The UK tax gap has been estimated at 5.3 percent in the 2019-20 tax year, standing at approximately £35 billion. This meant HMRC received 94.7 percent of all tax due. The tax gap for Income Tax, National Insurance contributions and Capital Gains Tax (IT, NICs and CGT) was 3.5 percent in 2019 to 2020 at £12.6 billion.
Global fiduciary services provider Vistra entered into a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Newhaven, an independent provider of corporate, fiduciary and business support services to corporates, professional services firms and private clients. This transaction is subject to regulatory approvals in various jurisdictions.