One minute with Rebecca Durrant , national head of private clients at Crowe.
What’s keeping you busy at work?
Many of my clients are director shareholders of family businesses, and the pandemic has raised some challenges for them (and not just from a financial or tax perspective), so supporting them is keeping me busy. The situation in which we currently find ourselves has made many people re-prioritise and focus their minds on the future, so I am working with some clients to review their financial strategy, which can involve IHT planning, restructuring property portfolios or unwinding historic offshore structures. The theme for many clients is very much ‘getting your house in order’.
If you could make one change to tax, what would it be?
Does it have to be just one? The tax system needs to be simple, robust and, above, all fair – and so much needs to change to accomplish that. The irony that I, as a tax adviser, want simplicity is not lost on me. If I had to make only one change, I would align tax and national insurance. The complexity of having two different systems that essentially do the same thing makes no sense. It would also remove some of the issues around remuneration by way of dividends that have been highlighted again recently, and it would achieve some of the consistency between the employed, self-employed and director shareholders that HMRC has long been looking for.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known at the start of your career?
My motto generally, and something I try to instil in my team, is ‘don’t be afraid to ask’. We often don’t get involved in things because we are not invited, or because we are scared to ask in case we make a mess of it. I now know that all successful people make a mess of things sometimes, even if they don’t always admit it. The trick is to learn from it and move on.
Are there any new rules that are causing a particular problem?
Not so much new rules, but the uncertainty around forthcoming tax changes is not helpful, particularly for businesses as they try to plan for next year. I appreciate change on this scale takes time, but people can often make tax driven decisions out of panic when commercially it may not always be necessary. The sooner we have some answers, the better.
What should we be looking out for next year?
A Budget hopefully! We need some clarity now so businesses can prepare and we can get the economy moving again. We seem to be treading water at the moment, which is not healthy for anyone. There will be changes for CGT, I think that much is clear. In my view, business owners and entrepreneurs should be protected as we need their input and support to get the country moving again post pandemic. One of the possible outcomes of the recent OTS review is that CGT rates will be more aligned with income tax rates. Whilst it is easier to see the argument for this for gains on passive investments, it is not as palatable for business owners, as effectively paying income tax on the growth of the business removes the incentive for the entrepreneur to take the risk on the investment, which is so important to our economy.
And finally, you might not know this about me but…
People are often surprised that I have been married for 26 years and have two very grown up sons in their twenties. I began tax and family life very young! I am happiest when we are all together at our favourite holiday spot in Dorset, and I hope to make a permanent move there one day – although, as a fully paid-up born and bred Mancunian, that could be difficult…
One minute with Rebecca Durrant , national head of private clients at Crowe.
What’s keeping you busy at work?
Many of my clients are director shareholders of family businesses, and the pandemic has raised some challenges for them (and not just from a financial or tax perspective), so supporting them is keeping me busy. The situation in which we currently find ourselves has made many people re-prioritise and focus their minds on the future, so I am working with some clients to review their financial strategy, which can involve IHT planning, restructuring property portfolios or unwinding historic offshore structures. The theme for many clients is very much ‘getting your house in order’.
If you could make one change to tax, what would it be?
Does it have to be just one? The tax system needs to be simple, robust and, above, all fair – and so much needs to change to accomplish that. The irony that I, as a tax adviser, want simplicity is not lost on me. If I had to make only one change, I would align tax and national insurance. The complexity of having two different systems that essentially do the same thing makes no sense. It would also remove some of the issues around remuneration by way of dividends that have been highlighted again recently, and it would achieve some of the consistency between the employed, self-employed and director shareholders that HMRC has long been looking for.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known at the start of your career?
My motto generally, and something I try to instil in my team, is ‘don’t be afraid to ask’. We often don’t get involved in things because we are not invited, or because we are scared to ask in case we make a mess of it. I now know that all successful people make a mess of things sometimes, even if they don’t always admit it. The trick is to learn from it and move on.
Are there any new rules that are causing a particular problem?
Not so much new rules, but the uncertainty around forthcoming tax changes is not helpful, particularly for businesses as they try to plan for next year. I appreciate change on this scale takes time, but people can often make tax driven decisions out of panic when commercially it may not always be necessary. The sooner we have some answers, the better.
What should we be looking out for next year?
A Budget hopefully! We need some clarity now so businesses can prepare and we can get the economy moving again. We seem to be treading water at the moment, which is not healthy for anyone. There will be changes for CGT, I think that much is clear. In my view, business owners and entrepreneurs should be protected as we need their input and support to get the country moving again post pandemic. One of the possible outcomes of the recent OTS review is that CGT rates will be more aligned with income tax rates. Whilst it is easier to see the argument for this for gains on passive investments, it is not as palatable for business owners, as effectively paying income tax on the growth of the business removes the incentive for the entrepreneur to take the risk on the investment, which is so important to our economy.
And finally, you might not know this about me but…
People are often surprised that I have been married for 26 years and have two very grown up sons in their twenties. I began tax and family life very young! I am happiest when we are all together at our favourite holiday spot in Dorset, and I hope to make a permanent move there one day – although, as a fully paid-up born and bred Mancunian, that could be difficult…
