A look at the most read stories on eprivateclient this week...

Monday

News in 2022 that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s multi-millionaire wife, Akshata Murty, had non-domicled status and therefore saving millions in tax brought the ‘non-dom regime’ to the forefront of the British public’s minds. Now, with Labour announcing its intention to reform the regime and Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt one-upping the opposing party by reportedly considering scrapping it altogether, it appears to be a hot button issue ahead of this year’s general election, expected in the second half of 2024. [Read more from Ethan Almond]

While inheritance tax (IHT) remains the tax investors dislike the most, high net worth individuals (HNWIs) see more value for boosting the wider economy in cutting income and corporation tax, according to investment broker Wealth Club. In a survey of over 400 wealthy investors, 33 percent said that if only one tax were cut at the Spring Budget, they would like it to be IHT. That came in just ahead of Income Tax, which 27 percent of investors said they would like to see cut. IHT is particularly unpopular with entrepreneurs, with 40 percent of entrepreneurs surveyed favouring a cut in this over any other tax.

Tuesday

Last week at accountancy and tax advisory firm RSM’s annual networking drinks for private client professionals, Emma Chamberlain CTA OBE, a barrister at Pump Court Tax Chambers, and Chris Etherington, a private client partner at RSM, shared their insights on the tax issues facing private clients in the coming year. With the Budget taking place tomorrow, it was felt by both that there seemed to be a general consensus that “the current regime was broken and that domicile was not a sensible connecting factor to use in the tax regime.” “However,” Ms Chamberlain told the room of private client specialists, “no one can quite work out what to put in place of domicile. A move to a solely residence-based system could be difficult in the context of inheritance tax (IHT) where the charge is largely based on the domicile of the individual or the settlor at the date the trust was established.” [Read more from Will Sidery]

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will focus on high-income US taxpayers who have failed to file federal income tax returns in more than 125,000 instances since 2017 to improve tax compliance and ensure fairness. The new initiative, made possible by Inflation Reduction Act funding, begins with IRS compliance letters on more than 125,000 cases where tax returns haven’t been filed since 2017. The mailings included more than 25,000 to those with more than $1 million in income, and over 100,000 to people with incomes between $400,000 and $1 million between tax years 2017 and 2021.

Wednesday

As expected UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced reform of non-dom rules that will raise £2.7 billion per year by 2028-29, which is in addition to the current £8.5 billion which non-doms pay in UK tax each year. Mr Hunt told MPs that the reform removes preferential tax treatment based on domicile status for all new foreign income and gains (FIG) which arise from April 2025. This reform will abolish the remittance basis of taxation for non-doms and replace it “with a modernised regime that is simpler and fairer”. [Read more from Will Sidery]

Multi-family office services provider Stonehage Fleming appointed Isabel Villalba Schmid as trustee director in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Ms Villalba Schmid joined Stonehage Fleming’s fiduciary team from ACE Trustees SA, where she was vice president – wealth planner. Prior to this she was head of client operations in Switzerland of Geneva Management Group and a senior trust manager at Rothschild & Co. Ms Villalba Schmid will act in a management and leadership role for trusts and companies managed out of Switzerland. She will also develop new business opportunities for the group.

Thursday

In his latest and possibly last Spring Budget, UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt peppered his announcements with tax giveaways and reforms as his party scrambles for votes ahead of the upcoming General Election. The bombshell news last week that the Chancellor was considering abolishing the non-dom regime came as a shock to the private wealth sector, with many pointing out his prior criticism of Labour's proposals to scale back the remittance basis of taxation. However, in a move that aped the opposition party's longstanding policy, Mr Hunt has abolished the tax rules for non-doms and replaced them with a "residence-based regime". [Read more from Ethan Almond]

In the Spring Budget, HMRC was given an extra £140 million in funding for its debt management capability, which is projected to bring in an extra £4.3 billion in unpaid tax by March 2029. HMRC data shows that delinquent tax debts – those not agreed with HMRC – stood at £39.1 billion at the end of 2023. Steven Porter, partner and head of tax disputes and investigations at international law firm Pinsent Masons, said the new "might actually be good news for taxpayers. If it results in more people dealing with taxpayers in debt, it will help with one of the biggest problems people have with HMRC – being unable to speak to anyone on the phone."

Friday

For International Women’s Day 2024, eprivateclient sat down with Katherine Ellis, group chief executive of Boston Multi Family Office (MFO), to discuss this year’s theme of ‘inspiring inclusivity’ in the trust and fiduciary sector. “The sector has changed quite dramatically since I started my career,” Ms Ellis remarked. Beginning her career in 1998, Ms Ellis remembered a time when “female directors or partners were few and far between,” adding that “it was not uncommon for one member of a board of six or seven to have been female.” [Read more from Ethan Almond]

Women in the UK are 'considerably' worse off than their male counterparts, according to a research study from Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management, with women holding an average of £147,000 in financial assets, compared to £250,000 for men. The research revealed that just 18 percent of adult women feel they received a good education on managing money in school compared to around a quarter (24 percent) of men. This contrast is starker amongst the younger generations, with nearly half (46 percent) of men under the age of 30 believing they had received a good education, compared to just 28 percent of women within the same age bracket.