One minute with Kate Schmit, partner at Stevens & Bolton.
You head the corporate tax and equity incentives practice at Stevens & Bolton. Tell us about the firm.
S&B is a one office firm based in Guildford, Surrey. We offer our clients a high quality alternative to City law firms (most of our lawyers hail from leading City or national practices). I started the corporate tax group nearly nine years ago with a vision of building a practice which closely resembles what you would find at one of the national law firms (which is my pedigree). I would like to think that we are fulfilling that ambition.
What are you working on at the moment?
We have a broad range of work on the desk at the moment, including various management advisory roles on MBOs, a demerger and a large number of equity incentives projects. In addition to our own stand-alone advisory and project work, we also provide support to our colleagues elsewhere in the firm, dealing with, for example, real estate and employment tax queries as they arise. Whilst this practice has a particular ‘sweet spot’ in the entrepreneurial/SME space, the broad client base of the firm means we can never quite predict what the next enquiry will be.
What recent change in tax has caught your eye?
The changes to the transactions in securities legislation and anti-phoenixing rules have probably had the most immediate impact on various transactions that we are working on. We are needing to adapt to the new normal and understand the implications that this has for our clients. The biggest challenge at the moment is advising on the likely approach to the changes by HMRC, which is tricky until the legislation has bedded down and a clear practice has developed.
Are any proposed tax measures in the consultations currently open for comment of particular concern?
The consultation relating to simplifying the taxation of termination payments has recently closed. Whilst I can see the benefit in clarifying and preventing the manipulation of payments in lieu of notice, I can see that the rules relating to post-employment payments (in particular ‘expected bonus income’) will present some challenges both for employers and employment lawyers. We are already needing to consider the impact for some clients when considering long-term HR strategy and possible future reorganisations.
If you could make one change to UK tax law or practice what would it be?
For HMRC to really put taxpayer experience front and centre in developing its digital strategy. The ‘making tax digital’ project is fast approaching with a significant budget to deliver that project. It is essential that the user interface is made as intuitive and easy to use as possible.
Comment on a recent trend in the market.
The traditional divide between law and accountancy practices is blurring again with the ‘big four’ bulking up their legal offerings (having retrenched from the market about 15 years ago). Law firms are increasingly diversifying too into other service offerings but not at perhaps the same pace or with the same ambition as the accountants (yet). The next five to ten years is going to be fascinating to see how this development plays out further. There is currently a further burst of consolidation in the legal market, but I wonder how long it will be until one of the major law firms is subsumed by one of the big four.
Finally, you might not know this about me but …
I set up the S&B office choir a few years ago. About 10% of the firm sing in the group every week. The choir just competed in the Legal Harmony competition at Southwark Cathedral (a competition for law firm choirs). We didn’t take home the silverware this year, but will be coming back stronger in 2017!
One minute with Kate Schmit, partner at Stevens & Bolton.
You head the corporate tax and equity incentives practice at Stevens & Bolton. Tell us about the firm.
S&B is a one office firm based in Guildford, Surrey. We offer our clients a high quality alternative to City law firms (most of our lawyers hail from leading City or national practices). I started the corporate tax group nearly nine years ago with a vision of building a practice which closely resembles what you would find at one of the national law firms (which is my pedigree). I would like to think that we are fulfilling that ambition.
What are you working on at the moment?
We have a broad range of work on the desk at the moment, including various management advisory roles on MBOs, a demerger and a large number of equity incentives projects. In addition to our own stand-alone advisory and project work, we also provide support to our colleagues elsewhere in the firm, dealing with, for example, real estate and employment tax queries as they arise. Whilst this practice has a particular ‘sweet spot’ in the entrepreneurial/SME space, the broad client base of the firm means we can never quite predict what the next enquiry will be.
What recent change in tax has caught your eye?
The changes to the transactions in securities legislation and anti-phoenixing rules have probably had the most immediate impact on various transactions that we are working on. We are needing to adapt to the new normal and understand the implications that this has for our clients. The biggest challenge at the moment is advising on the likely approach to the changes by HMRC, which is tricky until the legislation has bedded down and a clear practice has developed.
Are any proposed tax measures in the consultations currently open for comment of particular concern?
The consultation relating to simplifying the taxation of termination payments has recently closed. Whilst I can see the benefit in clarifying and preventing the manipulation of payments in lieu of notice, I can see that the rules relating to post-employment payments (in particular ‘expected bonus income’) will present some challenges both for employers and employment lawyers. We are already needing to consider the impact for some clients when considering long-term HR strategy and possible future reorganisations.
If you could make one change to UK tax law or practice what would it be?
For HMRC to really put taxpayer experience front and centre in developing its digital strategy. The ‘making tax digital’ project is fast approaching with a significant budget to deliver that project. It is essential that the user interface is made as intuitive and easy to use as possible.
Comment on a recent trend in the market.
The traditional divide between law and accountancy practices is blurring again with the ‘big four’ bulking up their legal offerings (having retrenched from the market about 15 years ago). Law firms are increasingly diversifying too into other service offerings but not at perhaps the same pace or with the same ambition as the accountants (yet). The next five to ten years is going to be fascinating to see how this development plays out further. There is currently a further burst of consolidation in the legal market, but I wonder how long it will be until one of the major law firms is subsumed by one of the big four.
Finally, you might not know this about me but …
I set up the S&B office choir a few years ago. About 10% of the firm sing in the group every week. The choir just competed in the Legal Harmony competition at Southwark Cathedral (a competition for law firm choirs). We didn’t take home the silverware this year, but will be coming back stronger in 2017!
