Corporate
We can advise on all aspects of taxation for corporates, including compliance matters, tax reliefs, advice on restructuring and sales and acquisitions.
Business Restructuring
We can provide advice on the tax aspects of business restructuring, including mergers, demergers and management buy outs. Obtaining advice early in the process is crucial to ensuring that adverse tax outcomes do not arise. Once we have a detailed understanding of the commercial objectives, we can provide the appropriate advice to meet those objectives in the most tax efficient way.
Where the restructuring involves the introduction of a new company, we can advise on how that should be done and how the shareholding should be held based on the current, as well as the expected future position, of the shareholders.
We can also make any required clearance applications to HMRC to confirm the tax treatment arising and provide certainty as to any tax consequences. This is particularly important for any transaction involving the exchange of shares as part of a restructuring.
Sales and Acquisitions
Buying or selling a business is a complex undertaking and getting the right tax advice is a key part of ensuring that it is successful. We can provide advice on all aspects in relation to a business sale, including the impact on the company as well as the shareholders, and liaise with the purchasers’ advisers to ensure that any tax aspects are fully understood by both sides and commercial resolutions are reached that are acceptable to all parties.
We can also ensure that the appropriate acquisition vehicle is used from a tax perspective and advise on the tax pros and cons of any available options prior to finalisation.
With regards to business sales, tax complexities may arise if part of the consideration is deferred, or warranties are required. Again, we can provide advice on these aspects to ensure that any immediate or future tax consequences are known about and planned for. We can also advise on any reliefs that may be available to the vendors, such as Business Asset Disposal Relief, that may mitigate any gains arising.
Tax Reliefs
Capital Allowances. We can undertake detailed reviews of fixed assets to ensure maximum capital allowances are claimed to offset against the corporation tax liability. We can also assist in real time during the completion of any capital projects to ensure the right information is gathered to assist with claims in the future. We often liaise with project managers and contractors to ensure this is done as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Research and Development. We can perform a full review of all potential research and development activity to look for projects that may qualify for a claim. For a claim to be successful, a detailed review of each project is necessary to fully understand the uncertainty being resolved and the work that has been undertaken to achieve this. We can then prepare a detailed report to accompany the claim with a view to ensuring that any potential challenge from HMRC is minimised and the claim accepted.
Enterprise Investment Scheme
We regularly advise companies who are looking to raise investment via the Enterprise Investment Scheme, which provides numerous tax advantages for the investor, such as tax relief in the year of investment and potential exemption from future capital gains tax on sale.
We can advise on whether the company will qualify for the scheme based on the criteria, including obtaining advance assurance from HMRC to provide certainty, which helps to attract investors. We can also assist with all the associated compliance matters associated with issuing shares under the scheme to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible.
Enterprise Management Incentives
We can assist with the introduction of an Enterprise Management Incentive scheme for your company. This provides a tax efficient way for employees to participate in the future growth of the company through the grant of share options to them. If the share options are granted at the current market value of the company there are no immediate income tax consequences for the employee and no further income tax will arise once they exercise the options, even if the market value at that time is significantly higher (although capital gains tax will be payable on any eventual gain made on sale).
We can provide advice on the relevant criteria for the company and whether it will qualify, as well as providing advice on communication of the scheme to employees and the tax implications for them. We can also assist with all compliance aspects, both on the establishment of the scheme and any future grants of options.