Tax planning
Think of any transaction you have done in the last 12 months and the chances are it was a taxable transaction: buying a house (Stamp Duty Land Tax), selling a house (Capital Gains Tax), making a pension contribution (Income Tax Relief), declaring a dividend (Corporation Tax and Income Tax), making gifts (Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax), granting a tenancy (Income Tax), getting married (acquiring IHT and CGT privileges), creating a trust (IHT and CGT).
Creating and hanging on to wealth are two sides of the same coin. Everyone understands the need to make money and to increase the value of their investments, but avoiding the payment of unnecessary tax is every bit as important. Not everyone recognises that fact.
If you just put aside a little time to think about a transaction and whether it could be arranged slightly differently, over a lifetime you could save a great deal of tax really quite painlessly. Our most successful clients tend to be the ones who always explore tax planning opportunities before embarking on a transaction. The habit then becomes second nature.
The point is that tax is part of life and a part of everything all of us do, not something to be left to the “fat cats” or those prepared to live in offshore tax havens. Tax advice should be common sense, and apply the same attitude to risk as clients use in their everyday lives.
Suzanne Alston, Jonathan Mathers and Wayne Perrin advise on means to reduce tax, so as to protect the wealth of both private individuals and businesses. Suzanne and Wayne are amongst just a handful of dual qualified solicitor/chartered tax advisers in the country. Chambers and Partners independent research describe Suzanne as "one of the top lawyers around" and her team as "boxing above its weight" with a practice that "marries accountancy and legal skills with panache on all aspects of tax planning & wealth management advice". Suzanne has over twenty years experience of setting and implementing sensible long term tax planning strategies for clients. She applies continuity of thought and commitment, ensuring that one generation’s tax planning does not become a millstone for future generations.
We have excellent professional relationships with accountants and with the tax bar, in particular Pump Court Tax Chambers in Bedford Row London. We work with the top Tax QC’s in the country, particularly where a future challenge from HMRC is anticipated.
Principal contacts
Suzanne Alston
Jonathan Mathers
Wayne Perrin
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Solicitors Greene & Greene have been based in Bury St Edmunds since 1893. Their clients include Suffolk families and businesses that look to the firm to reduce their tax bills and to protect their assets. One tends to think of tax advice as a shady world involving offshore companies and unbelievably complex arrangements, but that is not the case...(read more)
Latest from Chambers UK
"his long-established Bury St Edmunds team has a loyal following among regional closely held business owners, and farming and landed estate clients. It is praised for its comprehensive expertise, ranging from estate planning and asset protection management to contentious trusts and probate. "