One of the Midlands’ leading law firms is further developing its corporate and personal financial offer to clients by appointing new Tax Director Steven Holden.
Steven, an experienced tax professional specialising in working with trustees and private clients, has joined fast expanding HCB Solicitors to broaden the scope of advice available to all their clients.
HCB has offices in Solihull, Walsall, Stratford upon Avon, Redditch and Lichfield and has recently opened another in Sutton Coldfied. Steven will be providing tax advice to clients in all six areas.
Well-known on local radio and television as a regular commentator on tax affairs, Steven previously worked for two of the top ten accountancy and business services firms in the UK, and has also spent much of the last ten years in the legal sector.
He has an extensive specialist knowledge of trust taxation, accounting and administration as well as charitable trusts and also deals with tax compliance from assisting clients in tax repayment claims or tax returns to handling enquiries from HMRC for them.
A member of the Association of Taxation Technicians (of which he currently sits on the Membership committee), he acts as a volunteer for the charity Tax Help for Older People giving free tax surgeries to pensioners on low incomes and is also a local school governor.
Steven said: “HCB has proved itself as a successful and developing law firm with a growing number of partners specialising in all aspects of corporate and personal law, and that leads naturally into the tax affairs of their many clients.
“By offering clients the whole package of legal and tax advice we are able to develop the customer friendly ethos of the company over a large area of the West Midlands.
“I will be advising our clients on straightforward issues such as tax returns to advising on and setting up more complex matters like offshore trusts and company structures”.
Mike Gahan, chief executive of HCB Solicitors, said: “Steven’s appointment is a logical step in the firm’s development. He brings extensive knowledge and expertise to our portfolio in an area which is an attractive addition to our clients”.
Wednesday 22 February 2012
Monday 20 February 2012
Beware tax rebate scam e-mails
A warning to taxpayers to be vigilant as there have been several reports of HMRC scam emails, and no I don't just mean those letters asking you to pay your taxes!
Where taxpayers believe they may have been the victim of an email scam they should report the matter to their bank/card issuer as soon as possible. HMRC have previously advised that that those providing their details have had their accounts emptied and credit cards used to their limit. Victims are also at risk of having their personal details sold on to organised criminal gangs.
If in doubt, take the following actions:
- Check the http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/fraud-attempts.htm to see if the email you have received is listed.
- Forward suspicious emails to HMRC at phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and then delete it from your computer/mail account.
- Do not click on websites, links contained in suspicious emails or open attachments.
Wednesday 8 February 2012
Simple Tax Savings Tips
1. Use your tax allowances: Everyone, regardless of age or status has a tax free personal allowance for income tax purposes (currently £7,475 minimum in 2011/12). Also, if your spouse/partner isn't using all of their personal allowance, look into whether some of your joint incomes (such as savings or rental receipts) can be allocated to them to minimise your tax exposure as a couple.
2. Claim tax refunds: Most people who are due a repayment of tax are not aware that they are able to claim one. This could be a result of having the wrong tax code applied to your earnings, or having tax deducted from savings. If the latter simply filling in an HMRC R85 form can ensure you get your interest tax free.
3. Check your tax code: If you are employed or have a pension, HMRC will issue you with a tax code based on the information that they hold for you. Your employer or pension provider uses this to calculate the amount of tax they deduct from your earnings. If HMRC's information is incorrect, you could be paying the wrong amount of tax, so check it out and report it to HMRC if there is an anomaly.
4. Tax efficient savings and investments: Savings schemes are a great way to minimise your exposure to income tax. Simple steps like using up your ISA allowance can cut significant amounts off your tax liabilities. There are also other insurance backed investment schemes that can be used to draw a tax free "income" and minimise your exposure to income tax.
5. Do you have a pension: Contributions into pension schemes are tax exempt. Therefore, by putting extra cash into your pension, or starting one if you don't already have one can reduce your income tax bill.
6. Selling assets and investments: Transfers between spouses and civil partners are tax neutral, so before you sell assets that are likely to realise a capital gain (i.e. shares and property), look at whether it is worthwhile sharing that gain with your spouse/civil partner by transferring ownership of the assets. As you both have a capital gains tax annual exemption of £10,600 (2011/12) you could easily save almost £3,000 in tax!
7. Making gifts from income: A lot of inheritance tax planning can be, or at least seem, complex. A simple tip though, is that where you have income above and beyond that which you need to maintain your standard of living you can give it away completely free of inheritance tax, there isn't even a minimum amount of time to survive after making the gift.
8. Claim tax credits: If you have children or work on a low wage, then you could be entitled to claim help from the £3.7 billion of tax credits on offer. To see if you are eligible, check this out http://bit.ly/7sJH4e
9. Sort out your tax return: Under the self assessment regime, if you have not filed your paper tax return by 31 October or electronic tax return by 31 January following the end of the tax year you will receive a £100 penalty fine, followed by another £10 per day thereafter that it remains outstanding even if you don't owe any tax!
10. Get a Tax Adviser: Using a good Tax Adviser is going to save you money, especially if your tax affairs are in any way complex. At first glance it can seem expensive, but a knowledgeable tax expert will pay for themselves many times over.
2. Claim tax refunds: Most people who are due a repayment of tax are not aware that they are able to claim one. This could be a result of having the wrong tax code applied to your earnings, or having tax deducted from savings. If the latter simply filling in an HMRC R85 form can ensure you get your interest tax free.
3. Check your tax code: If you are employed or have a pension, HMRC will issue you with a tax code based on the information that they hold for you. Your employer or pension provider uses this to calculate the amount of tax they deduct from your earnings. If HMRC's information is incorrect, you could be paying the wrong amount of tax, so check it out and report it to HMRC if there is an anomaly.
4. Tax efficient savings and investments: Savings schemes are a great way to minimise your exposure to income tax. Simple steps like using up your ISA allowance can cut significant amounts off your tax liabilities. There are also other insurance backed investment schemes that can be used to draw a tax free "income" and minimise your exposure to income tax.
5. Do you have a pension: Contributions into pension schemes are tax exempt. Therefore, by putting extra cash into your pension, or starting one if you don't already have one can reduce your income tax bill.
6. Selling assets and investments: Transfers between spouses and civil partners are tax neutral, so before you sell assets that are likely to realise a capital gain (i.e. shares and property), look at whether it is worthwhile sharing that gain with your spouse/civil partner by transferring ownership of the assets. As you both have a capital gains tax annual exemption of £10,600 (2011/12) you could easily save almost £3,000 in tax!
7. Making gifts from income: A lot of inheritance tax planning can be, or at least seem, complex. A simple tip though, is that where you have income above and beyond that which you need to maintain your standard of living you can give it away completely free of inheritance tax, there isn't even a minimum amount of time to survive after making the gift.
8. Claim tax credits: If you have children or work on a low wage, then you could be entitled to claim help from the £3.7 billion of tax credits on offer. To see if you are eligible, check this out http://bit.ly/7sJH4e
9. Sort out your tax return: Under the self assessment regime, if you have not filed your paper tax return by 31 October or electronic tax return by 31 January following the end of the tax year you will receive a £100 penalty fine, followed by another £10 per day thereafter that it remains outstanding even if you don't owe any tax!
10. Get a Tax Adviser: Using a good Tax Adviser is going to save you money, especially if your tax affairs are in any way complex. At first glance it can seem expensive, but a knowledgeable tax expert will pay for themselves many times over.
Thursday 2 February 2012
Do you need help understanding tax?
Tax is for most a daunting subject, as understanding how it affects you can be complicated, whether its filing a tax return, or organising your affairs to help minimise inheritance tax. Getting good advice and help can not only help you achieve this, but also allow you to sleep easier at night knowing someone with a detailed knowledge of tax is looking after you.
I have been working in the tax arena for more than ten years now, spending time in both the financial and legal sectors. This has given me a great insight into not only offering tax advice, but being able to actually implement and manage those solutions for my clients too. I also have a specialist knowledge of trusts, and the peculiar tax and legal requirements that apply to them, allowing me to guide trustees through the running of their trusts and ensuring they meet their legal obligations.
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