Taxation

Nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. Whilst there’s little we can do about death, there’s lots we can do to help you with taxes.

Taxation responds as well to good planning and control as any other business cost. We believe that all clients are different and need individual tax strategies. These strategies ensure that liabilities are always known in advance and that maximum benefit is derived from allowances and reliefs.

Broadly speaking, taxation falls into two areas, Compliance and Planning. Let’s start with compliance:

At Arifeen & Co we help our clients plan to minimise their liabilities. Like all planning, early involvement is a hallmark to a successful outcome.

Our Tax planning operation cuts right across the main UK tax regime which is to say income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax, VAT and Corporation Tax. Our Tax specialists has an in-depth knowledge of the regulations governing each of these Taxes, which is a prerequisite for analysing the consequences of certain courses of action. Each of our clients is different and requires an individual Tax Planning Strategy. We are skilled in advising across a wide variety of situations that may arise regularly or as one-off transactions. Planning to minimise can be applied across the business and personal spectrum and areas may include:

• Personal tax planning
• Business tax planning
• Business acquisitions or disposals
• Capital taxation planning
• Purchase and disposals of fixed assets and capital allowances planning
• Incorporation of businesses
• Planning for non-residents and non-domiciled taxpayers
• Company re-organisations and corporate structuring
• Partnership tax planning
• Extraction of business profits
• Remuneration packages
• Use of company pension schemes
• Share options and other employee incentives
• Enterprise management incentives

We offer an investigation support service to provide advice on any aspect of a Tax investigation no matter which Government body it is instigated by. The service is intended for use in a consultancy role supporting the adviser’s relationship with the client, rather than being in conflict with it.

More increasingly, Revenue and Customs investigators are being better trained, and are tending to be more practised at investigation work through working greater numbers of cases. With the increase in specialisation across the full range by both the HM Revenue and Customs & Excise, it is becoming much harder for advisors to keep up to pace with all areas. At no time is the advisor under more pressure than when representing a client subjected to a joint investigation by both the Revenue and Customs & Excise, as are becoming more commonplace with joint working units having been established across the country. Consequently the client might be put at a disadvantage unless specialist help is brought in.

Our team of Tax investigation specialists are available to offer advice by phone or by personal meeting if preferred. we are very experienced at securing the best position for clients subjected to investigation.

We provide: 

• Free telephone assistance, whereby one of our investigation specialists will discuss issues with you and provide general advice
• Free initial consultations without obligation on specific cases

If you’d like to contact us about our Taxation Services – simply go to the Contact Us area and let us know.

Inheritance Tax applies to gifts of capital and is levied on the value of assets transferred.

But is Inheritance Tax a voluntary tax?

It is well known fact that when a person dies, leaving an estate which is below the threshold, there is no Inheritance Tax to pay. The problem is that these limits are quite low particularly for home-owners.

Gifting your wealth seven years or more before your death is one easy suggestion, but with this comes a raft of other questions which are not so easily answered.

• Am I certain I will survive seven years or indeed live much longer?
• How much money will I need for the rest of my life and what happens if I become infirm?
• How should I provide for my spouse and/or my loved ones?
• What should I do with my business?
• How can I make gifts to my inexperienced heirs without encouraging them to be profligate with my hard-earned and retained capital?

These questions and many more are the start of developing a strategy to deal with your estate.

At Arifeen & Co our consultants are well placed to review a client’s asset base, personal circumstances and requirements for life. Then, in conjunction with our client, we can work to develop a comprehensive plan that empathises with their objectives and takes advantage of tax mitigation opportunities.

When VAT is explained to a new trader, the first impression is that it is a simple tax to administer. Provided the businessman keeps good records and makes timely returns and payments, his life should be as straightforward as any other unpaid tax collector in the community.

Unfortunately, behind the simplicity of VAT lurks complexity beyond a client’s wildest imagination. The unwary can become trapped in the complex rules governing deductibility of input tax, never mind the difficulties in determining the output tax associated with the supply of services and the rules governing both the nature and place of supply. It’s hardly surprising that this labyrinth of law leads to inaccuracies in returns and the penalties that flow from them.

If you are planning a new transaction or simply require some routine advice, please feel free to contact us at an early stage.