On 21 March 2017, the first political trilogue on the Commission proposals to amend the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4AMLD), proposed in July 2016, on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing took place at the European Parliament (EP). In the wake of the… Read More EU AMLD: where are we now?
I have just enjoyed a highly informative STEP Caribbean Conference in Cayman from May 1-3, which attracted well over 300 delegates from across the STEP world. Presentations ranged from the emerging theme of cryptocurrencies, which I suspect is a wholly new topic to many in the audience, to the use of firewall provisions in fending… Read More STEP Caribbean Conference, Cayman
STEP attended the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Joint Experts’ Meeting on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Typologies in Moscow late last month. STEP’s Co-Chair of its Public Policy Committee, John Riches TEP, also attended in his capacity as a trust expert. STEP was invited to participate in a ‘Challenges of establishing beneficial ownership’ round… Read More STEP attends FATF Joint Experts’ Meeting on Typologies in Moscow
The government’s threat to radically increase probate fees next month (Probate fee rise ‘a new tax on bereaved families’) may be receding, following a meeting of the House of Commons Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments on 29 March. Using some very welcome common sense, the committee raises the issue (para 1.12) that it is a… Read More Probate fees – will common sense prevail?
UPDATE 21/04/2017: the Ministry of Justice has abandoned the new fee regime due to lack of parliamentary time prior to the 2017 General Election. See more information. What is probate? When someone dies, you need to get the legal right to deal with their property, money and possessions, and to do so you need a grant… Read More New probate fees: a guide for the public
Every legal entity will need to get a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) by 3 January 2018. Emily Deane TEP explains what LEIs are, and how to get one. Please see Emily’s 5 September 2017 blog, Trustees, have you got your LEIs? What is an LEI? The Global Legal Entity Identification Foundation (GLEIF) has designed a… Read More Have you registered your LEIs?
This week STEP hosted a seminar to update members on HMRC’s latest moves to tackle tax evasion and avoidance. Entitled, ‘An essential update on HMRC’s activity to tackle tax evasion and avoidance, including information exchange, new powers and its impact on professional advisors,’ the seminar took place at BDO LLP’s office in London. Speakers included… Read More HMRC: no more safe havens
STEP hosted its annual Special Interest Group (SIG) Spotlight Sessions on 14 November in London, a day comprising six conference streams. SIGs provide opportunities for members to connect and advance their focused area of practice. I attended the International Client SIG session, which focused on the needs of practitioners serving international clients with complex planning… Read More STEP puts CRS, transparency and public registers under the SIG spotlight
STEP hosted the last in this autumn’s series of Annual Tax Conferences on 21 October in London. Some outstanding STEP members spoke on topical matters including John Barnett TEP, Emma Chamberlain TEP, Robert Jamieson TEP, Edward Stone TEP, Paula Tallon and Chris Whitehouse TEP. Emma Chamberlain provided a much needed update on deemed domiciliaries –… Read More STEP Annual Tax Conference looks at deemed domiciliaries
STEP attended a meeting held by HMRC on 11 October to obtain feedback on its plan to make tax returns reportable on a quarterly basis, and completely digital. HMRC’s stated objective is to improve the level of service for the public, reduce the cost to the taxpayer, and increase the revenue’s compliance and accuracy. It… Read More Making Tax Digital update
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