One minute with Frank Strachen, partner and head of tax at Edwin Coe.
What’s keeping you busy at work?
I have quite a varied collection of HMRC investigations I am managing at the moment, but a couple of large COP9 cases are keeping me extremely busy. My team has just completed a huge volume of work for clients affected by the RND changes arising on 6 April.
What sets the tax team at Edwin Coe apart from other firms?
A really strong team ethos – we operate like the peloton. Everyone works together to support each other to deliver the best possible service and advice to our clients. In many cases, clients become friends of members of the team. For example, when one of my team was recently made up to partner, the sheer volume of clients (and contacts) who wrote to congratulate her was great to witness. We work especially hard on our client relationships, so that clients feel bought in to our team’s development as much as we do. Some clients have been with us since we were just two people. As the team has grown into double figures, it is great to see those relationships continue to develop and thrive.
What advice would you give to the government?
Please stop picking on RND taxpayers. The untold story is how much this group contributes to investment in businesses, local economies, employment – the list goes on. Wealthy RNDs are leaving the UK because global mobility is easier, and schools and hospitals outside of the UK are the equal of the UK, so there is no need for these families to be here any longer. Those who have left feel beaten down by the continuous deluge of taxation brought in to target them.
I would also ask for a meaningful review of the nil-rate band for IHT. Too many of the older generation simply won’t discuss wealth or succession planning. Many families from that era will have their wealth materially affected by that generation’s mindset. Those of the next generation are far more comfortable discussing wealth with their family and planning for the impact of IHT. Unfortunately, as much as you try to explain to clients of a certain generation about it, many still don’t want to discuss it. IHT used to be a liability of the minority, now it’s a liability of the masses.
What recent development in tax caught your eye?
The U-turn on self-employed NIC rates. Given all the financial and PR modelling which takes place prior to any Budget announcement, you would never have expected such an abrupt U-turn. I have never seen such a high-profile announcement reversed in such a publicised way. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in No. 11 when the changes were reversed!
Is there a recent non-tax development that has affected your work?
Brexit – it is worrying all clients, across all spectrums both UK resident and non-UK resident. It is shaping clients’ decisions, and I am not sure enough is currently known about its true impact for the decisions which are being made.
What’s the truest thing you have ever heard in tax?
Having started my career in HMRC, when I left, my first boss outside of HMRC said to me, ‘Whether its 1p or 99p taxation in the £1, someone will always try to fiddle it’. I can’t say this theory has ever been proved wrong.
And finally, you might not know this about me…
I spent a season playing rugby in New Zealand. On cold days I still bear the scars of that season. I remember one game in particular when in the tunnel waiting to run out I noticed three of the opposition come out of their dressing room. The first one was a huge bear of a man, the second an even larger version, and the third had to duck under the door and walk out side-on. I remember thinking, ‘why didn’t I notice these three during the warm up? This is going to hurt’, and it did – but only when I woke up in hospital 20km away…
One minute with Frank Strachen, partner and head of tax at Edwin Coe.
What’s keeping you busy at work?
I have quite a varied collection of HMRC investigations I am managing at the moment, but a couple of large COP9 cases are keeping me extremely busy. My team has just completed a huge volume of work for clients affected by the RND changes arising on 6 April.
What sets the tax team at Edwin Coe apart from other firms?
A really strong team ethos – we operate like the peloton. Everyone works together to support each other to deliver the best possible service and advice to our clients. In many cases, clients become friends of members of the team. For example, when one of my team was recently made up to partner, the sheer volume of clients (and contacts) who wrote to congratulate her was great to witness. We work especially hard on our client relationships, so that clients feel bought in to our team’s development as much as we do. Some clients have been with us since we were just two people. As the team has grown into double figures, it is great to see those relationships continue to develop and thrive.
What advice would you give to the government?
Please stop picking on RND taxpayers. The untold story is how much this group contributes to investment in businesses, local economies, employment – the list goes on. Wealthy RNDs are leaving the UK because global mobility is easier, and schools and hospitals outside of the UK are the equal of the UK, so there is no need for these families to be here any longer. Those who have left feel beaten down by the continuous deluge of taxation brought in to target them.
I would also ask for a meaningful review of the nil-rate band for IHT. Too many of the older generation simply won’t discuss wealth or succession planning. Many families from that era will have their wealth materially affected by that generation’s mindset. Those of the next generation are far more comfortable discussing wealth with their family and planning for the impact of IHT. Unfortunately, as much as you try to explain to clients of a certain generation about it, many still don’t want to discuss it. IHT used to be a liability of the minority, now it’s a liability of the masses.
What recent development in tax caught your eye?
The U-turn on self-employed NIC rates. Given all the financial and PR modelling which takes place prior to any Budget announcement, you would never have expected such an abrupt U-turn. I have never seen such a high-profile announcement reversed in such a publicised way. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in No. 11 when the changes were reversed!
Is there a recent non-tax development that has affected your work?
Brexit – it is worrying all clients, across all spectrums both UK resident and non-UK resident. It is shaping clients’ decisions, and I am not sure enough is currently known about its true impact for the decisions which are being made.
What’s the truest thing you have ever heard in tax?
Having started my career in HMRC, when I left, my first boss outside of HMRC said to me, ‘Whether its 1p or 99p taxation in the £1, someone will always try to fiddle it’. I can’t say this theory has ever been proved wrong.
And finally, you might not know this about me…
I spent a season playing rugby in New Zealand. On cold days I still bear the scars of that season. I remember one game in particular when in the tunnel waiting to run out I noticed three of the opposition come out of their dressing room. The first one was a huge bear of a man, the second an even larger version, and the third had to duck under the door and walk out side-on. I remember thinking, ‘why didn’t I notice these three during the warm up? This is going to hurt’, and it did – but only when I woke up in hospital 20km away…
