One minute with Ceri Stoner, tax partner at Wiggin.
What’s keeping you busy at work?
As a tax adviser with a media and tech sector focus, the pace of commercial and technical developments is fast. Back-to-back special projects, rather than ‘business as usual’, are what often seems to keep in-house tax teams most busy – and that is reflected in our workstreams. In the past 12 months, the corporate and IP structuring we’re involved in has been supplemented by organisations dealing with the introduction of the new creative reliefs (audio visual expenditure credits), changes to R&D credits and the ever-evolving compliance and case law in respect of the employment tax status rules.
I doubt there’ll be any drop off in pace, either within our sectors or, given the upcoming election, in the context of policy change, in the next 12 months.
If you could make one change to a tax law or practice, what would it be?
Tax policy can of course influence and drive taxpayer behaviour. Many organisations are already moving towards greater sustainability and I would like to see the tax system being harnessed to both extend and expedite this process. In terms of the means to achieve this, I would favour the carrot and not the stick, i.e. a system of tax incentivisation to provide reward and/or recognition for sustainability measures and/or a meaningful reduction in carbon footprint, as opposed to the introduction of a penal carbon tax. Given the goodwill and appetite for change, even a minimal level of incentive could make a real difference.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known at the start of your career?
How long a career is. Once you’re a partner, you’re a partner for the long haul. I love the variety and responsibility of partnership – but don’t think I looked much beyond the aspirational title at the start of my career. Had I known that I’d probably spend more of my life as a partner than working to be one, I might have been in less of a hurry!
Are there any new rules that are causing a particular problem in practice?
Are there any that do not? I think the pace of change in tax legislation means that there will always be a need to address unintended consequences. As part of the ICAEW faculty and various industry groups, I’m aware of the system of formal and informal consultations to address this. However, the more lines of meaningful communication between stakeholders and the Treasury, the better.
What are clients currently asking about?
Many clients have received initial questionnaires from HMRC regarding their compliance with the off-payroll working rules and are on notice of HMRC’s view of ‘good practice’ (following the publication of HMRC’s ‘good practice’ guidance which sets out HMRC’s extensive minimum compliance standards in respect of organisations’ contingent workforce).
To help safeguard in the event of any future HMRC audit or enforcement action, we are therefore seeing an uptick in requests for training for in-house personnel responsible for these tests and subscriptions to our compliance platform, IR35 Manager, to run these tests.
Finally, you might not know this about me but...
My dog is my favourite dependant. I haven’t even told my children, but they probably won’t ever read this.
One minute with Ceri Stoner, tax partner at Wiggin.
What’s keeping you busy at work?
As a tax adviser with a media and tech sector focus, the pace of commercial and technical developments is fast. Back-to-back special projects, rather than ‘business as usual’, are what often seems to keep in-house tax teams most busy – and that is reflected in our workstreams. In the past 12 months, the corporate and IP structuring we’re involved in has been supplemented by organisations dealing with the introduction of the new creative reliefs (audio visual expenditure credits), changes to R&D credits and the ever-evolving compliance and case law in respect of the employment tax status rules.
I doubt there’ll be any drop off in pace, either within our sectors or, given the upcoming election, in the context of policy change, in the next 12 months.
If you could make one change to a tax law or practice, what would it be?
Tax policy can of course influence and drive taxpayer behaviour. Many organisations are already moving towards greater sustainability and I would like to see the tax system being harnessed to both extend and expedite this process. In terms of the means to achieve this, I would favour the carrot and not the stick, i.e. a system of tax incentivisation to provide reward and/or recognition for sustainability measures and/or a meaningful reduction in carbon footprint, as opposed to the introduction of a penal carbon tax. Given the goodwill and appetite for change, even a minimal level of incentive could make a real difference.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known at the start of your career?
How long a career is. Once you’re a partner, you’re a partner for the long haul. I love the variety and responsibility of partnership – but don’t think I looked much beyond the aspirational title at the start of my career. Had I known that I’d probably spend more of my life as a partner than working to be one, I might have been in less of a hurry!
Are there any new rules that are causing a particular problem in practice?
Are there any that do not? I think the pace of change in tax legislation means that there will always be a need to address unintended consequences. As part of the ICAEW faculty and various industry groups, I’m aware of the system of formal and informal consultations to address this. However, the more lines of meaningful communication between stakeholders and the Treasury, the better.
What are clients currently asking about?
Many clients have received initial questionnaires from HMRC regarding their compliance with the off-payroll working rules and are on notice of HMRC’s view of ‘good practice’ (following the publication of HMRC’s ‘good practice’ guidance which sets out HMRC’s extensive minimum compliance standards in respect of organisations’ contingent workforce).
To help safeguard in the event of any future HMRC audit or enforcement action, we are therefore seeing an uptick in requests for training for in-house personnel responsible for these tests and subscriptions to our compliance platform, IR35 Manager, to run these tests.
Finally, you might not know this about me but...
My dog is my favourite dependant. I haven’t even told my children, but they probably won’t ever read this.
