A look back at the most read stories on eprivateclient this week….
Monday
The number of HMRC investigations that yielded no extra tax has increased 13 percent from 82,000 in 2020/21 to 93,000 in 2021/22, data from UHY Hacker Young showed. HMRC now receives data from a variety of sources including individual and corporate tax returns, the Land Registry, online property rental platforms, the UK Border Agency, bank and credit card records, e-retail platforms, flight sales and passenger information, web browsing and email records, overseas bank records, DVLA records and social media.
Board directors serving the UK’s largest financial services firms currently hold an average of three board seats each, and a third (33 percent) hold four or more, according to the latest EY European Financial Services Boardroom Monitor. Amongst the most senior board members at UK financial services firms – chairs and executive directors – the average number of positions held is two.
Tuesday
JTC bolstered its European private client services (PCS) team with the appointment of Helena Storjohann as a director in its Geneva office. Ms Storjohann started her career in the trust industry working for Coutts trustees in Geneva, before moving with the management to set up a new independent trust company where she held the role of head of private office services. Immediately prior to joining JTC, Ms Storjohann worked for Julius Baer, where she was a wealth planner, with a particular focus on the Middle East, advising clients and their families on wealth planning and structuring. She previously worked for Merrill Lynch on the advisory team of its international trust company.
Global financial services provider, the Apex Group, is set to acquire AXESS Accounting Office, a provider of corporate tax services to the Japanese market which focuses on venture businesses, foreign-owned companies and the individual income tax affairs of foreign residents in Japan. The agreement follows Apex Group’s longstanding partnership with AXESS to service real estate and private equity clients in Japan. Following completion of the acquisition, the AXESS team of 30 local tax specialists will join Apex Group, which is led in Japan by country head, Mark Bennett.
Wednesday
International multi-family office Stonehage Fleming made a series of promotions across the group’s London office. In the firm's family office division, Jack Henderson and Anna Wetherell were promoted to associate director, Francesca Maule and Eleanor Sowerbutts to manager and Edward Durgan to senior associate. Robyn Bramwell was promoted to director in Stonehage Fleming's corporate, legal and tax advisory team. In group services, Peter Rogerson was promoted to director, Hannah Berry to associate director, with Claire Main and Oliver Taylor both promoted to senior associate. Within investment management, James Cook was promoted to director, Mark Leshnick, Archie Burt and Miki Caves to associate director and Ross Elliott to manager.
Following months of strikes, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that public sector workers across the UK will receive a pay-rise. However, in order to fund these wage increases, the UK government is proposing to raise both visa application fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge, international law firm Withers warned.
Thursday
Countries are on course to lose nearly $5 trillion in tax to multinational corporations and wealthy individuals using 'tax havens' to underpay tax over the next 10 years, a new report from the think tank the Tax Justice Network claimed. The report - The State of Tax Justice 2023 – warned that the future losses of public money would be equivalent to losing a year of worldwide spending on public health. The report claimed that countries are losing $472 billion in tax a year to global tax abuse. Of the $472 billion lost a year, $301 billion is lost to cross-border corporate tax abuse by multinational corporations and $171 billion is lost to offshore tax abuse by wealthy individuals.
Estates liable for Inheritance tax (IHT) in 2020/21 increased by 17 percent from the previous year – from 23,000 to 27,000. The value of IHT liabilities amounted to £5.76 billion, a 16 percent increase from the previous year, making it the largest single-year rise since 2014/15 when tax liabilities rose by 25 percent (£840 million). This value is the highest on record, surpassing the previous peak of £5.05 billion in the 2016/17 tax year.
Friday
The Portuguese parliament voted in updates on its golden visa requirements. The programme is set to continue for a number of non-real estate investments, but there are some “major” changes. For investors who already have golden visas or who have pending applications, the new legislation is designed to provide clarity. Pending applications will be converted into entrepreneur permits (D2 visas). The minimum stay requirements and the validity period of the new residency permits will remain the same. Five years of legal residency under the D2 Visa will still grant the right to apply for Portuguese citizenship.
Global offshore law firm Harneys hired Juan Pablo Urrutia as a partner in its regulatory & tax practice group in the Cayman Islands. Mr Urrutia has joined the firm from rival offshore law firm, Walkers, where he was a senior counsel within its regulatory group. He has over two decades of experience providing legal advice to financial services firms and has acted for buy and sell side clients, including a bulge bracket financial institution, an algorithmic financial technology broker, and one of the world's oldest sovereign wealth funds.