Top Tax Tips

Tax is a cost; an overhead to be controlled and managed like any other household or business expense. We recommend that everyone should observe the following golden rules towards sound tax and cash flow management.

Any substantial transaction or series of transactions may have a tax consequence or several. Always check before proceeding.
Hold an annual tax planning meeting with your tax advisor, ideally at least eight weeks before your tax year end.
Review the potential tax liabilities arising from your current year's income and capital gains and review options to mitigate by reduction or deferral or both.
Take a commercial view of your tax liabilities. The success of some tax planning cannot be guaranteed so do a risk and reward analysis. Complete a cost-benefit assessment before embarking on any complex or expensive tax planning arrangements.
Ignore the man down the pub or in the golf club. Unless he is a tax specialist, it is likely he doesn't know what he is talking about! Tax rules are complex and their application to different people, different businesses and different situations varies enormously, depending on the detailed facts.
Don't obtain your tax advice from H M Revenue and Customs either! The taxman has no interest in saving you money and you are rarely able to speak to a specialist or even an experienced person.
When considering your annual accountancy fees, keep a little extra in the budget to enable your tax advisor to deal with at least some tax planning queries that may crop up and ensure that the costs of the annual tax planning meeting are built into your budget.

But remember, although you should always consider tax issues when making commercial and financial investment decisions, choices that are almost entirely tax driven rarely make good commercial sense. So keep a balance.

Our Tax Advisory and Wealth Management services include:

For more information about our Taxation and Wealth Management services or to arrange a consultation, please contact a member of our team.

Key Contacts

Anne Smith
Partner
(029) 2054 6613
Email Anne