‘There is a good argument to be made that the UK tax system has completely revolutionised itself in the last ten years,’ says David Kilshaw. ‘We’ve gone from a structure that was very tax planning-focused, and we are now in a world of needing to be very cautious. So I think that’s been a big change.’
Kilshaw believes it’s vital that tax professionals are aware of the concerns that the public or the press – and clients – may have about tax and wealth structuring. However, in a world of enhanced compliance such concerns are less pressing, as offshore centres are now ‘highly regulated’ and ‘focused on doing things properly’.
‘They have an extremely professional message,’ says Kilshaw. ‘They are now marketing themselves and therefore competing on who is the most polished, when in years gone by they may have been competing around entry status.’
Other changes forecast by Kilshaw include those pertaining to non-resident capital gains tax – a symptom of the UK taxman ‘stretching his fingers across the globe’ – and non-dom rules. ‘The Revenue are increasingly looking to challenge non-dom status. People have slipped into comfort and that will need to be revisited over the next few years.’
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