One minute with Robyn Limmer, head of tax at Frank Hirth.
How did you get into tax?
Many years ago, when I was first starting out on the career ladder, I worked in marketing. It is a great sector to be in, but it didn’t quite suit my analytical mind. One evening, a friend suggested I ‘work in US tax’ and put me in touch with a recruiter who connected me with Arthur Andersen. From there, I took my first steps into the world of tax, and I have never looked back.
You were recently promoted to head of tax at Frank Hirth. What’s in your in-tray?
Being a primarily private client tax firm, we cover everything from trusts, privately owned businesses, HNWIs and extensive UK and US tax planning issues. It’s my job to bring together the various strands of the firm in a joined up and cohesive way to ensure technical excellence and client care at all times.
What’s the number one practical issue on tax for your clients?
For a number of our clients, it is being able to provide their tax return information at the right time and in the right format. They often work in foreign currencies, with complex offshore structures and we ask them to review their tax returns which, due to their complex nature, can be really difficult for them to do.
If you could make one change to UK tax law or practice, what would it be?
I would like to allow non-domiciled individuals to spend their money within the UK without tax consequence. All too often, they are caught by complex rules which make it difficult to remit historical funds to the UK. Relaxing these rules would have to be good for the economy.
Does the treaty provide a measure of protection for American citizens resident in the UK?
With all the new requirements for banks to report details of their clients’ accounts both in the US and Europe, we are seeing clients on a daily basis who have fallen behind with their taxes either in the US or the UK. One of the questions we are consistently asked is how the treaty comes into play in this situation. Unfortunately for Americans, often the answer is that it doesn’t help or at least not in the way they might expect. Clients can end up in a difficult ‘double tax’ situation, which is a very hard conversation to have with a client.
Comment on a recent development in tax that has caught your eye.
I was going to talk about the recent Supreme Court decision in the Anson case, which affects a good deal of our clients. But having listened to the July 2015 Budget, it has to be the changes to the non-dom tax rules. It will be interesting to see if the government has thought this through and the impact on non-dom clients whose tax affairs will literally be impossible to unpick.
I have to wonder if the government has fully considered the complexities, and I am sceptical about the amount of additional revenue it will bring in.
Finally, you might not know this about me but…
I come from a family of adrenalin junkies. I will often watch from the sidelines as the family ‘bag carrier’, but I do like to ski hard and ski fast and can often be found navigating the black slopes. This is probably the only time where I can put work to one side and clear my head.
One minute with Robyn Limmer, head of tax at Frank Hirth.
How did you get into tax?
Many years ago, when I was first starting out on the career ladder, I worked in marketing. It is a great sector to be in, but it didn’t quite suit my analytical mind. One evening, a friend suggested I ‘work in US tax’ and put me in touch with a recruiter who connected me with Arthur Andersen. From there, I took my first steps into the world of tax, and I have never looked back.
You were recently promoted to head of tax at Frank Hirth. What’s in your in-tray?
Being a primarily private client tax firm, we cover everything from trusts, privately owned businesses, HNWIs and extensive UK and US tax planning issues. It’s my job to bring together the various strands of the firm in a joined up and cohesive way to ensure technical excellence and client care at all times.
What’s the number one practical issue on tax for your clients?
For a number of our clients, it is being able to provide their tax return information at the right time and in the right format. They often work in foreign currencies, with complex offshore structures and we ask them to review their tax returns which, due to their complex nature, can be really difficult for them to do.
If you could make one change to UK tax law or practice, what would it be?
I would like to allow non-domiciled individuals to spend their money within the UK without tax consequence. All too often, they are caught by complex rules which make it difficult to remit historical funds to the UK. Relaxing these rules would have to be good for the economy.
Does the treaty provide a measure of protection for American citizens resident in the UK?
With all the new requirements for banks to report details of their clients’ accounts both in the US and Europe, we are seeing clients on a daily basis who have fallen behind with their taxes either in the US or the UK. One of the questions we are consistently asked is how the treaty comes into play in this situation. Unfortunately for Americans, often the answer is that it doesn’t help or at least not in the way they might expect. Clients can end up in a difficult ‘double tax’ situation, which is a very hard conversation to have with a client.
Comment on a recent development in tax that has caught your eye.
I was going to talk about the recent Supreme Court decision in the Anson case, which affects a good deal of our clients. But having listened to the July 2015 Budget, it has to be the changes to the non-dom tax rules. It will be interesting to see if the government has thought this through and the impact on non-dom clients whose tax affairs will literally be impossible to unpick.
I have to wonder if the government has fully considered the complexities, and I am sceptical about the amount of additional revenue it will bring in.
Finally, you might not know this about me but…
I come from a family of adrenalin junkies. I will often watch from the sidelines as the family ‘bag carrier’, but I do like to ski hard and ski fast and can often be found navigating the black slopes. This is probably the only time where I can put work to one side and clear my head.
