A look at the most read stories to feature on eprivateclient this week…
Monday
Over three-quarters of people found their divorce stressful while a quarter wished they’d chosen another way to end their marriage, a new report found. UK law firm Irwin Mitchell – as part of its campaign to do divorce differently – commissioned OnePoll to survey 1,000 divorcees about their experience getting divorced; whether their relationship ending had been an amicable situation; and if they knew about alternative dispute resolution (ADR).
Following a Freedom of Information request, London-based independent law firm Gherson Solicitors uncovered that HMRC has requested information from other tax administrations to obtain information held by cryptoasset exchanges and data holders outside the UK.
Tuesday
Crestbridge recognised 47 individuals across its network of offices, including a number at senior level, as part of its latest round of promotions. The fiduciary services provider’s senior team was bolstered with Paul Nayar made CFO for the group, whilst Zoe Dewhurst (corporate), James Milner (business development), Ahmad Al Najjar (operations), and Christopher Cameron and Danielle Cottignies (family office) were all promoted to director.
The United States’ Supreme Court handed down its decision in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta - a case that is likely to have a widespread impact on state non-profit donor disclosure and transparency frameworks across the country, law firm Dentons advised.
Wednesday
PraxisIFM agreed to sell its fund administration division to Sanne Group in an all-cash deal in excess of £50 million. PraxisIFM is selling the business to focus on developing its private wealth and corporate services divisions with the deal equating to 20 percent of the Guernsey headquartered firm’s overall business revenue. The deal will see the transfer of around £25 billion of funds administration assets under administration.
Accountancy firm Chiene + Tait (C+T) appointed a new partner within its expanding personal tax team. Lisa Travers joined from RSM’s Glasgow office where she worked within its private client practice. Prior that that she spent the first nine years of her career at KPMG before moving to Deloitte, where she was an associate director.
Thursday
Self-Assessment taxpayers required to make a payment on account (POA) HMRC by Saturday 31 July may not need to do so, a UK tax and advisory firm suggested. Those affected by Covid-19 should consider if it is necessary to make this POA now, as it will be based on the tax liabilities which arose for the year ended 5 April 2020, Blick Rothenberg explained. As 2019/20 UK tax returns were largely not impacted by the pandemic, many self-assessment taxpayers may find that their 2020/21 income is much lower than their earnings for 2019/20.
A major independent study into innovation in the legal sector revealed that while the majority of law firms were making increasing use of day-to-day technology, the development of bespoke legal technology was largely focused on advances which would benefit larger corporate clients.
Friday
In the tax year ending 2020, HMRC estimated that 75,700 individuals claimed non-domiciled taxpayer status in the UK on their Self-Assessment (SA) tax returns, down from 78,600 in the previous year. HMRC calculated non-doms are liable to pay £7.85 billion in UK Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and National Insurance contributions (NICs) in the tax year ending 2020. This is a marginal fall from last year’s £7.89 billion.
Zedra appointed Joe McBurney as a business development director to support new business development for funds, active wealth and corporate services. Based in London, Mr McBurney has 20 years’ trust and fiduciary experience in Jersey, the British Virgin Islands, Switzerland, the UK and Singapore. Most recently, he was managing director of Sequent in Singapore.