One minute with Craig Kemsley, head of tax at Calibrate Law.
What’s keeping you busy?
Despite the uncertainty caused by the covid-19 pandemic and Brexit, I’ve been busy expanding our team and enhancing our private client offering. I don’t see this growth stopping.
Equally, the unprecedented travel restrictions have highlighted the importance of a strong international network and I’ve made a concerted effort to solidify strategic partnerships throughout the EMEA region.
If you could make one change to tax, what would it be?
An important reform that would help combat the widening wealth inequality in the UK would be to align CGT rates with income tax rates. If such a reform were introduced, then in my view it must also be accompanied by something akin to the former business assets taper relief (BATR). BATR previously offered a reduced rate of CGT payable depending on the length of the duration of the ownership of business assets, mainly shares of unlisted trading companies. Such measures would replace business asset disposal relief (previously entrepreneurs’ relief), a relief which has been curtailed in recent years. In addition, an inflation allowance using the consumer price index would remove a much maligned aspect of the CGT.
What trends are you seeing in practice?
A worrying direction we’ve noticed HMRC taking recently has been an increased reluctance to grant s 135 clearances for share for share exchanges, even for the most straightforward requests. We are closely following these developments in this area and are adjusting our advice accordingly.
A more general trend is the increasing exodus of wealth from the UK to other jurisdictions. The UK had long been considered an attractive, stable and tax competitive jurisdiction and thus historically was a gainful business hub for entrepreneurs and talented individuals from around the globe. However, it’s becoming a reality that the UK has started losing its competitive appeal to the internationally mobile; this is now a vital issue that the government needs to address.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known at the start of your career?
During my 30-year career, it’s become apparent that the use of hourly billing and timesheets is increasingly outdated and irrelevant to clients. Timesheets can also create distracting internal metrics. Our main focus should always be creating better outcomes for clients. A much more client-centric and effective billing structure that we’ve adopted at Calibrate Law involves committing to a fixed fee on almost every project. This aligns our commercial interests with those of our clients, as we are both motivated to complete projects as quickly and efficiently as possible.
What should we look out for later this year?
Undoubtedly, a key question occupying the minds of most of us is how the covid-19 pandemic will transform the UK government’s fiscal position. Pandemic related measures including reoccurring lockdowns on all or part of the economy have resulted in an unprecedented level of government spending and also tax reductions (e.g. VAT rates and SDLT). Good arguments have been made on both sides as to how and when the government should increase taxes. My view is that talk of tax increases is premature as it this would likely be detrimental for the nascent economic recovery.
And finally, you might not know this about me but…
I am a twin, although it is unlikely that you have seen two of me as her name is Celeste.
One minute with Craig Kemsley, head of tax at Calibrate Law.
What’s keeping you busy?
Despite the uncertainty caused by the covid-19 pandemic and Brexit, I’ve been busy expanding our team and enhancing our private client offering. I don’t see this growth stopping.
Equally, the unprecedented travel restrictions have highlighted the importance of a strong international network and I’ve made a concerted effort to solidify strategic partnerships throughout the EMEA region.
If you could make one change to tax, what would it be?
An important reform that would help combat the widening wealth inequality in the UK would be to align CGT rates with income tax rates. If such a reform were introduced, then in my view it must also be accompanied by something akin to the former business assets taper relief (BATR). BATR previously offered a reduced rate of CGT payable depending on the length of the duration of the ownership of business assets, mainly shares of unlisted trading companies. Such measures would replace business asset disposal relief (previously entrepreneurs’ relief), a relief which has been curtailed in recent years. In addition, an inflation allowance using the consumer price index would remove a much maligned aspect of the CGT.
What trends are you seeing in practice?
A worrying direction we’ve noticed HMRC taking recently has been an increased reluctance to grant s 135 clearances for share for share exchanges, even for the most straightforward requests. We are closely following these developments in this area and are adjusting our advice accordingly.
A more general trend is the increasing exodus of wealth from the UK to other jurisdictions. The UK had long been considered an attractive, stable and tax competitive jurisdiction and thus historically was a gainful business hub for entrepreneurs and talented individuals from around the globe. However, it’s becoming a reality that the UK has started losing its competitive appeal to the internationally mobile; this is now a vital issue that the government needs to address.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known at the start of your career?
During my 30-year career, it’s become apparent that the use of hourly billing and timesheets is increasingly outdated and irrelevant to clients. Timesheets can also create distracting internal metrics. Our main focus should always be creating better outcomes for clients. A much more client-centric and effective billing structure that we’ve adopted at Calibrate Law involves committing to a fixed fee on almost every project. This aligns our commercial interests with those of our clients, as we are both motivated to complete projects as quickly and efficiently as possible.
What should we look out for later this year?
Undoubtedly, a key question occupying the minds of most of us is how the covid-19 pandemic will transform the UK government’s fiscal position. Pandemic related measures including reoccurring lockdowns on all or part of the economy have resulted in an unprecedented level of government spending and also tax reductions (e.g. VAT rates and SDLT). Good arguments have been made on both sides as to how and when the government should increase taxes. My view is that talk of tax increases is premature as it this would likely be detrimental for the nascent economic recovery.
And finally, you might not know this about me but…
I am a twin, although it is unlikely that you have seen two of me as her name is Celeste.
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