Six months ago we were all stunned at Brexit. Now we are also wondering how a Trump presidency will unfold and what further shocks national electorates may give across Europe, given the various elections ahead. STEP is monitoring the situation closely and is in discussions with other relevant professional bodies as well as maintaining lines… Read More STEP England & Wales Biannual Statement – December 2016
STEP has published Offshore Perceptions, a major new piece of research looking at the current state of the offshore world. It paints a picture of a sector adapting rapidly to a new regulatory and institutional environment. It also confirms that measures designed to tackle abuse by a few, are actually having a major impact on… Read More What next for offshore?
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
HMRC hosted another Charities CRS working group on 12 October. The following issues were on the agenda for discussion: Human Rights Guidance HMRC has been collecting examples from the working group to increase transparency and address concerns where the exchange of information could put individuals at risk. Its new guidance has addressed some of these… Read More CRS and Charities October update
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
On 18 October, my colleague Beatriz Brockhurst (STEP News Editor) and I attended the launch of Legacy Giving and Behavioural Insights – a research report which examined how will writers discussed charitable giving with their clients. Bridging the gap The research illustrates the gap between clients expressing an interest in leaving charitable gifts (35 per… Read More Legacy giving: the role of the practitioner
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
Update on discussions relating to the treatment of trusts Following the consultation paper issued on 19 August 2016, members of STEP’s UK Technical Committee have been closely involved in discussions with HM Treasury and HM Revenue & Customs in relation to the latest proposals. The most difficult area is the treatment of offshore trusts set… Read More April 2017 changes to the UK’s taxation of long-term resident, non-domiciled individuals
STEP was invited by the European Commission to attend a second private sector consultative meeting on Wednesday 5 October to discuss the supranational risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risk in the EU. We represented the trust sector and legal professionals in the first consultative meeting with the Commission in March 2016. The… Read More STEP in Brussels to discuss money laundering and terrorist financing risks
The England & Wales Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) published an update in September 2015 providing guidance on financial lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) and how attorneys can delegate investment management decisions to a discretionary investment manager. Under this guidance an attorney can appoint a bank or an IFA to act on their behalf to… Read More Invitation to members – LPA discretionary investment clauses
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