From the taxman...to helping taxpayers

My career started with HMRC in London. Yes... I used to work for the taxman. Thankfully, I eventually saw the light and decided I'd much rather help taxpayers than collect tax from them! Some people ask whether that experience still helps today.

I spent three years with HMRC before moving into private practice and have now worked in tax for more than 30 years.

People often ask whether my time inside HMRC still helps today. Without doubt, it does.

It taught me how HMRC approaches tax enquiries, how inspectors interpret information and legislation. But, perhaps more importantly, the sort of things that are likely to raise questions.

That experience has proved invaluable over the years, particularly when helping clients through HMRC enquiries, voluntary disclosures and more complicated tax issues.

My time working in London also gave me the opportunity to meet and advise a number of well-known people in the entertainment and music industry. Whilst I’d love to share the really interesting stories, client confidentiality and the potential threat of legal action helps concentrate my mind wonderfully!

However, working with clients in these sectors did give me an early indication that not everybody earns their living via conventional means!

I like solving difficult tax problems

One of the nicest compliments I receive is when clients tell me: "It was just like talking to a real person." I take that as a huge compliment. Tax is complicated enough without accountants making it even harder.

I enjoy solving complex tax problems, but I enjoy explaining the answer in plain English even more. My job isn't to impress you with technical jargon. It's to make sure you understand your options so you can make the right decision with confidence.

Ultimately, the decision belongs to the client.

Over the years that approach has led me into some interesting areas of tax, particularly where the legislation has had to catch up with new industries, technologies and ways of doing business. Crypto is probably the best example.

From a Bitcoin exchange to the digital economy

Our involvement with crypto first began in 2016, when we took on our first client in the crypto sector, which was a Bitcoin exchange.

At the time, crypto was still a relatively new area for accountants and tax advisers. There was little or no UK guidance and many of the transactions we encountered raised genuinely interesting tax questions.

I was probably one of the first tax advisers in the UK to write publicly in detail about the tax treatment of crypto soon afterwards. Having made investments ourselves, we have remained closely involved with the sector as it has evolved into a more mainstream investment activity.

What began with Bitcoin and crypto exchanges has expanded into an entire digital asset economy involving investors, traders, businesses, staking, DeFi, NFTs, gaming and Web3.

The experience of being a crypto investor has been surprisingly useful professionally because I understand some of the practical realities behind the tax calculations: exchanges disappearing, transaction histories becoming incomplete, moving assets between wallets, market volatility and trying to make sense of activity spread across numerous platforms.

Over the years, our experience in this area has also given us the opportunity to discuss crypto taxation directly with HMRC’s specialist crypto team.

I find the whole subject fascinating, partly because it demonstrates one of the challenges of modern tax advice: technology can develop far more quickly than the tax legislation itself. Sometimes you’re applying legislation written years or even decades earlier to a business model or transaction that nobody contemplated when those rules were first introduced.

That same challenge exists across the wider digital economy. When I started my career there was no cryptocurrency, nobody earned a living from YouTube, SaaS wasn’t a commonly used expression and artificial intelligence wasn’t transforming established business models. Today, businesses built around those technologies are some of the most interesting clients we work with.

Music, media and the creator economy

My interest in music goes back much further than my professional interest in the modern creator economy.

Music has been one of my main passions in life. I have been to hundreds of gigs and festivals, plus for a number of years I wrote content for a music website. That involved corresponding with musicians and gave me an excuse to spend even more time talking and writing about a subject I’ve always loved. I was part of an editorial team which collaborated in producing one of the first downloadable music e-zines - an achievement we’re very proud of.

Professionally, it was my tax career in London that also gave me the opportunity to further indulge my passion for music by meeting and advising numerous well-known (and not so well-known) individuals in the music, media and entertainment industry.

Those experiences gave me an early understanding that creative people often have income and commercial arrangements that don’t fit neatly into conventional boxes.

Musicians and performers have long dealt with combinations of fees, royalties, appearances and other income. Today’s creators may instead earn from YouTube advertising, subscriptions, sponsorship, affiliate income, digital products and international platforms, often all at the same time.

The technology and terminology have changed enormously, but some of the underlying tax issues have remained largely unchanged. That’s one of the many reasons I find the modern creator economy so fascinating.

They can face complicated questions involving VAT, international customers, overseas platforms, intellectual property, research and development, investment, share structures, remuneration, profit extraction and eventually selling the business.

I'm particularly passionate about advising businesses operating in the digital economy, including:

• Cryptocurrency investors and businesses
• Content creators, YouTubers and social media influencers
• E-commerce and online retail businesses
• Gaming, esports and digital entertainment businesses
• Technology, software and artificial intelligence companies
• SaaS and subscription-based businesses
• Digital agencies and online entrepreneurs
• Internationally mobile founders and business owners

But before you can advise on the tax, you need to understand how the business actually works.

Where does the money come from?

Who is paying it?

What is actually being supplied?

Which platforms are involved?

Where are the customers?

What is the owner ultimately trying to achieve?

Those questions are often just as important as understanding the tax issues involved.

Every client has a different definition of success

One of the biggest misconceptions about tax advisers is that our job is simply to save tax. I don't believe that's true.

Some clients want to grow a business they can eventually sell.

Others want more time with their family.

Some want financial independence.

Others simply want peace of mind.

The best advice starts by understanding the person behind the business. Once we understand what you're trying to achieve, we can build a tax strategy that supports those goals.

Sometimes that's the most tax-efficient solution. 

Sometimes it isn't.

What's important is that it's the right decision for you.

A few achievements I'm particularly proud of

Those successes aren't about finding clever loopholes. They're about understanding the legislation properly, applying it correctly and giving clients advice they can trust.

Starting the Friendly Accountants with Lesley

The Friendly Accountants is a business I co-founded with my wife, Lesley, although our story started long before TFA.

We first met many years ago through mutual friends. Lesley is a Chartered Accountant and I’m a Chartered Tax Adviser, and over time it became obvious that our professional strengths, though very different, were complementary.

There was another important factor: Lesley hates tax and doesn’t like dealing with it.

Fortunately, I love it!

So, I naturally assumed responsibility for the tax function in our business, whilst Lesley focused on those areas where she excels (no pun intended!): accounting, systems, technology, processes and continually making improvements to our business model.

It’s a division of responsibilities that has worked remarkably well.

We also approach problems differently. I love getting involved with clients, discussing tax and working through unusual technical problems. Lesley is the visionary, constantly challenging how we can improve the business, embrace technology and build better systems that make life easier for both our clients and our team.

These very different strengths have played a big part in creating the practice we have today.

Neither of us would pretend we've built this business on our own. We're incredibly fortunate to have an exceptional team who genuinely care about our clients. The service people receive isn't down to one person.

Qualifications:
Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation
Member of the Association of Taxation Technicians

Outside of the office: 

I’ve been invited to speak publicly on tax matters on a number of occasions. While it’s always flattering to be asked, I’ve deliberately turned down some of those opportunities. I’ve never believed success means being the loudest voice in the room.

For me, it’s about building a business we’re proud of, doing interesting work, looking after great clients and still having time to enjoy life outside it.

When I’m not immersed in tax, you’ll quite often find me on my bike. Cycling is my way of clearing my head, relieving stress and escaping the office for a few hours. Maintaining that balance has become increasingly important to me over the years.

Like Lesley, I’m an animal lover so when I’m not sitting down in front of the TV with a cat on my lap, I’m out with Lesley walking an increasingly diverse selection of foster dogs.

Music for me is another form of escape from the pressure of running a business. Queen remains my favourite band, though I’m also a huge fan of Foreigner, Journey and Toto and the whole ‘Yacht rock’ genre. However, whilst my tastes have become increasingly eclectic over the years, I’m basically old school. 

So, I’ll happily listen to anything from the 1960s through to the 1980s. That said, Maroon 5 and Bruno Mars are also guilty pleasures – much to our son’s annoyance.

And I will happily talk about music for considerably longer than anyone (especially Lesley!) has asked me to.

Favourite film:

It's a Wonderful Life - call me old fashioned but this always brings a lump to my throat.

Favourite band: 

Queen.

Favourite way to escape advising on tax :

Getting out on my bike, listening to music (obviously!), travelling with Lesley and also assisting with her menagerie of foster dogs

If I was a fictional character I would be:  

Atticus Finch from 'To Kill a Mockingbird' for displaying great moral courage  and standing firm in the face of adversity.