A look at the most read stories to feature on eprivateclient this week…
Monday
The UK trust business of Coutts and NatWest was sold to a new firm - Ludlow Trust Company - under an agreed acquisition deal. The transaction will see Ludlow have a non-exclusive arrangement with the two banks for future business flows. Coutts meanwhile will continue to advise on trusts, Inheritance Tax planning and wealth structuring for its high net worth clients.
Law firm Harbottle & Lewis appointed Marcus Parker as a partner in its private capital practice. Mr Parker has over 20 years’ experience in the private client industry as both a lawyer and - for the last seven years - as a professional trustee in the Cayman Islands. Before moving to the Cayman Islands in 2013, he was a founding partner of London-based boutique private client law firm New Quadrant Partners.
Tuesday
UK law firm Wedlake Bell promoted Ollie Embley (private client) and Rachel Walbourn (real estate) as partners in the firm. Their appointments are with immediate effect. An eprivateclient Top 35 Under 35 in 2015 and 2018, Mr Embley has been with the firm since 2007 when he joined as a trainee. Ms Walbourn joined Wedlake Bell in 2011 and qualified in 2014. She specialises in development work.
JTC, a global provider of fund, corporate and private client services, saw its pre-tax profits fall by 36 percent from £17.6 million to £11.2 million. However, in its full year results, the firm stated that - excluding certain acquisition-related expenses - it reported an 8 percent increase in underlying profits to £21.4 million.
Wednesday
A third (33 percent) of Scots are unaware that the Scottish Parliament had made changes to the tax system since 2015. This is according to a poll from the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) and ICAS (the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland). The survey found 26 percent said they were “not aware of” the Scottish Parliament’s powers to make changes to income tax rates in Scotland, while 25 percent said the same for Holyrood’s powers over Council Tax, Business Rates and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.
Global corporate, private client and funds services provider Hawksford appointed Gavin Wilkins as group chief commercial officer. In his new role, Mr Wilkins, who joined Hawksford as global head of client and intermediary relationships in 2020, will play a strategic role in shaping the future of the business, including the development of new markets and broadening Hawksford’s client service offering.
Thursday
UK accountancy firm HW Fisher hired tax investigations specialist Richard Morley as a partner. Mr Morley – who has been tasked with heading up the firm’s tax resolution business – has joined from BDO where he had been a partner since 2014. He has over 30 years’ experience within tax and tax disputes, having originally started with the Inland Revenue before going on to work at firms including Deloitte, before joining BDO in 2009.
The US State of New York introduced a wealth tax in its 2021-22 budget that will increase the top state personal income tax rate from 8.82 percent to 9.65 percent for those whose income is over $1 million. For joint filers, this rate will apply to those whose total income exceeds $2 million. The New York Senate has also established two new tax brackets. Those earning over $5 million in a single year will pay tax at a rate of 10.3 percent, while those earning over £25 million will face a 10.9 percent income tax rate.
UK family businesses risk falling behind other countries in their commitment to prioritising sustainability in their strategies, according to findings from PwC’s latest Global Family Business Survey. While more than half (53 percent) of UK family businesses surveyed believe they have a responsibility to fight climate change and its related consequences, only a third (33 percent) have developed and communicated a sustainability strategy compared to the global average of 37 percent.
The German government passed the second draft of a law to implement the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD-UmsG). The first ATAD draft law was removed from the Cabinet’s agenda in December 2019, meaning the draft was not implemented before the EU’s deadline of 31 December 2019. Now, according to law firm CMS, the exit taxation measures in the new draft “go far beyond” those required by ATAD.