One minute with ... Rupert Shiers

How did you end up in tax?
I’d studied tax as a postgraduate lawyer in Oxford. Then during my solicitor's training contract the most impressive lawyer I worked with was a tax lawyer – Christopher Norfolk author of Norfolk on Interest. And so I chose to work with him when I qualified.

What professional advice would you give to someone joining the profession?
You have to want to handle the level of detail that the tax legislation demands. And you must want to help people: it’s first and foremost a service industry.

Where do you stand on the proposed GAAR which is now out to consultation?
I was not against the Graham Aaronson version. I have worked on GAAR disputes in other jurisdictions and by focusing on the unusually aggressive the Aaronson version avoided many of the most serious difficulties. Of course ...