Welcome to our private client newsletter, aimed at helping you understand some of the financial issues which may be of interest to you. The past year has seen us face some considerable challenges, not least the political roundabout of three prime ministers, and a dizzying number of economic statements and reversals which left our heads spinning at what might come next.
2022 was also a momentous constitutional year as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully in September, after reigning for 70 years. Many of the obituaries mentioned that a large number of her subjects had the chance to meet the late Queen during her reign. However, our client, Richard Stone spent considerably more time with her than most. As a royal portrait artist of international repute, he painted the late Queen a number of times as well as many other members of the royal family and society figures. On page 6-7, you can read more about his extraordinary career and see some examples of his portraits. Our newsletters are one way we have of keeping in touch with you, and ensuring you are informed about some of the topical issues where our teams may be able to help and provide advice. For this newsletter, we examine some of the personal tax implications to be aware of at the moment, and on page 10, we also take an in-depth look at family investment companies, which are becoming an increasingly popular way of passing on wealth, but which have some tax benefits over traditional trust arrangements.
The high rates of inflation and cost of living crisis have prompted many people to help their friends and family with cash gifts. Most of the time these won’t impact your tax responsibilities, but if you are planning to give away more than £3,000 it may be helpful to talk to a professional Tax Adviser to ensure you are doing so in a tax-efficient way. Simon Hurren, Private Client Tax Associate Partner explains more on page 8. If you are considering making some improvements to your home this year, it may be worth remembering that this will not only add to the value of your home but also increase your exposure to risk. Natasha Root Private Client Insurance Executive gives some useful pointers in her article on page 16. As well as a new office opening in Bury St Edmunds, I’m delighted to let you know about the newest member of our Private Client team. Paul Harris joins Scrutton Bland as a Private Client Tax Partner and will be based in the new Bury office. Paul has over thirty years’ experience in finance and specialises in providing advice on capital taxes and wealth management for high-net-worth individuals and their families, together with their related entities such as businesses and trusts, with a particular area of expertise, built up over several decades, in agriculture and landed estates.
The new office is located just off the A14 in a development of heritage farm buildings. Do come and see us there – we’re at The Long Barn, Fornham Business Court, Fornham St Martin, Bury St Edmunds IP31 1SL. We hope you’ll find some useful information in this newsletter and would love to hear from you if you’d like to know more about any of the subjects we’ve covered.
Jason Fayers Managing Partner
PRIVATE CLIENT | SCRUTTON BLAND | 3
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