On 17 October 2023, the Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers was delighted to welcome Prof Martin Daunton to give the first in person talk since before the pandemic. Martin is well known to the History of Tax group – this was his fourth visit, and he gave us another fascinating talk, this time on death taxes.
Martin considered the death taxes of the UK, US, Germany, and France, focusing mainly on the period since 1900. The various taxes on death in each country were looked at to address three questions, namely:
· Should tax be paid on the total value of the estate, or by each recipient, and at what rate;
· Should inheritance tax be used to rebalance active and passive wealth; and
· Should tax be used to break up large fortunes.
At different times and in different territories, tax has been levied on either the total value of an estate or on a recipient, sometimes with rates varying depending on the closeness of the relationship with the deceased, and limits on testamentary discretion. For example, in Germany in 1906 tax was paid on the amount inherited, at varying rates depending on the closeness of the relationship, with no tax on inheritances by the spouse or children of the deceased. However, there were prescribed limits on bequests, with a requirement that 50% of an estate was to be left to legitimate heirs. By comparison, the US taxed the total value of an estate, with complete testamentary freedom.
As well as being revenue raising, death taxes had a role to play in rebalancing or redistributing wealth. Rebalancing wealth was a theme in the policy underpinning UK death taxes, based on the theory that inherited wealth does not stem from achievement and so passive wealth could be harmful to both enterprise and the morals of the recipient. In Winston Churchill’s 1925 budget he referred to the need for “energetic creation of wealth” as being vital in the post war period, with inheritance tax being a “penalty on inertia”. By contrast the US saw death taxes as a method of redistributing wealth and preventing fortunes from being passed down the generations, effectively creating a new aristocracy and, in Franklin D Roosevelt’s words, perpetuating “great and undesirable concentrations of control”.
This brief summary cannot do justice to the depth and scope of Martin’s talk, and we must wait for his next book to read more on this subject. As always, his presentation was stimulating and very timely with a general election in the next year or so and the debate about the future of Inheritance tax. Much can be learned from the past experience!
The next History of Tax event is on 27 February 2024 when Pat O’Brien will give a centenary perspective on Irish taxation in a talk called “Out of the ruins”.
On 21 September 2023 the Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers held its Installation Court where Mike Gibbons MBE was installed as Master and Bob Harland was installed as Deputy Master. Wardens of the Worshipful Company were appointed as follows: Kevin Thomas (Upper Warden), Matthew Peppitt (Middle Warden) and Caroline Turnball-Hall (Renter Warden). After the Installation Court, a Service of Thanksgiving was held at The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great followed by the Installation Dinner at Painters’ Hall. Gary Ashford, President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, was the guest of honour. In his speech, Gary amplified the Master’s chosen theme for 2023/24: ‘fellowship, affiliation and collaboration, within the Livery and with its affiliates’.
On 28 September the Renter Warden (Caroline Turnbull-Hall) and Court Assistant Michael Ashdown attended a reception to publicise the work of the Coroners’ Court Support Service (CCSS).
The CCSS is an independent voluntary organisation, which trains volunteers so that they can offer practical help and emotional support to anyone attending an inquest at a Coroner’s Court, be they members of the deceased’s family, witnesses or others.
The reception was held at the Old Bailey by invitation of HHJ Mark Lucraft KC, Recorder for London, with support from the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers. The evening included a short address by Roey Burden OBE, the Founder Trustee, and a film illustrating the work of the CCSS.
The Master took part in the Annual Sheep Drive across Southwark Bridge last week, a privilege only available to Freemen of the City of London. . Attached is the Certificate which confirms that he drove the sheep successfully as well as a picture.
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The City of London Corporation, in collaboration with PwC, and with support from the Green Finance Institute present this new report “A global centre for nature finance” which outlines our vision for an innovative and world leading centre for nature finance that supports the ambition of the GBF.
This report evaluates the readiness of the UK to take on this role and the required next steps. Mapping the current UK nature finance ecosystem, including market tools, participants, and the enabling infrastructure, it presents a roadmap for the UK to build on its position as a leading centre for green finance and become a global centre for nature finance.
For more details and to download the Report please follow the attached link:
A Global Centre for Nature Finance
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Two gallant teams of Tax Advisers rose to the challenge of a competing in a Pétanque tournament held in Vauxhall Park. This was organised by The Worshipful Company of Distillers in conjunction with the London Pétanque club.
Each team consisted of three team members and the knockout stages took the form of three matches against different livery companies.
Experience was in short supply, but this did not present a challenge to any of the participants. The matches were closely fought, but sadly both tax teams were knocked out at the group stage.
The trophy will not be coming home in 2023.
A special thanks is due to Middle Warden, Richard Geldard for organising the company’s entry and for providing food and refreshments.
Our two teams were Marcus Fincham, Keith Gordon, Howard Ashmore and Richard Geldard. Harvey and Sophie came to our rescue at the last minute, replacing two Company members who had to withdraw.
On Monday 10th July, the Company held a Livery Dinner at Wax Chandlers’ Hall. The Guest of Honour, Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli, proposed a Toast to the Company to which the Master, Bob Harland, responded. The following were also present as guests of the Company: Nicholas Woolf, Master, The Worshipful Company of Gardeners; Erica Stary, Master, The Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers alias Wire Workers; and Dame Fiona Woolf, Upper Warden (Master-Elect), The Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers.
This picture shows the captain of HMS Bangor presenting our Tax Adviser Awards to two members of the ship’s company.
The Commanding Officer of HMS Bangor, our affiliated ship, has sent through the attached pictures of its recent deployment with the Japanese Navy.
Our members were very fortunate to enjoy a tour of the Old Bailey accompanied by Sheriff Andrew Marsden. It proved to be a fascinating evening learning about both the current work of the Courts and its history.
The building dates from 1907 and was built on the site of the old courthouse and Newgate Prison. It is the only court under the control of the City of London. A chair for the Lord mayor is reserved in Court Number One, although their role is nominal, the Judges never sit in this chair.
We were lucky to be allowed into Court Number One and to see the rarely accessible Grand Hall.
Our thanks are due to both Andrew Marsden for his tour and to Sue Christensen for organising.
The Tax Advisers’ Charitable Trust (TACT) is a general charitable fund which supports tax charities, education, the Lord Mayor’s Appeal and a number of City and Greater London causes. Amongst these causes we are delighted to be supporters of the London Air Ambulance and the London Air Ambulance’s Up Against Time Appeal.
Every day the London Air Ambulance crew is up against time to save lives in London. Now they are up against time to replace their helicopter fleet in autumn 2024 so that they can keep London’s only air ambulance flying beyond this time. Almost all of the funding required to run the service and replace the fleet comes from charities, private individuals, the general public and businesses.
TACT’s support will help the London Air Ambulance service to safeguard its 24/7 service for the 10 million people of London. They expect to treat more than 25,000 patients between 2024 –2039* – the expected lifespan of the new helicopters – improving their life-chances after serious injury.
Bob Harland, Master of the Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers and Lorraine Parkin, Chair of the Charities’ Committee were privileged to be given a tour of the London Air Ambulance’s base at The Royal London Hospital on 8 May 2023. They have nothing but admiration for the work and dedication of the crews who save so many lives.
TACT hopes to be able to donate further to the Up Against Time Appeal. If you would like any information on how to make donations to this appeal via TACT, or would like to be put in contact with the fund raisers at the London Air Ambulance to make a personal donation, please do not hesitate to contact Lorraine Parkin @ [email protected]
*Based on historical mission data for their helicopters & cars.
Individual members of the Court of Assistants and Past Masters are delighted to have made donations towards the Anointing Screen that will be used during the Coronation of HM King Charles III on Saturday 6 May at Westminster Abbey.
The Anointing Screen has been designed and produced for use at the most sacred moment of the Coronation: the Anointing of His Majesty The King. The screen combines traditional and contemporary sustainable embroidery practices to produce a design which speaks to His Majesty The King’s deep affection for the Commonwealth.
The screen has been gifted for the occasion by the City of London Corporation and the City Livery Companies, which offer their unstinting loyalty to and support for the Monarchy.
(Image courtesy of Press Association)
Our Budget Banquet was held at Ironmongers Hall last week on 2 March 2023 and over 140 members of the Company and guests attended. We were pleased to welcome David Goldberg KC as our speaker as well as a number of other official guests including Susan Ball, the President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
At the Court meeting on 2 March 2023 we installed Robert Lowth as the new Clerk of the Company.
As Chair of our Charities’ Committee from September 2022, I was delighted to join the Livery Charity Chairs’ Group (LCCG), which is chaired by the amazing Hilary Lindsay. One area of focus for this group is the Livery Food Initiative. I am told that across London 10.2 million meals are needed each month to sustain people who are experiencing food poverty. At the same time around 13 million meals are wasted each month. Food wastage is one of the leading contributors to climate change.
The LCCG has partnered with City Harvest to collect and deliver healthy food on a daily basis to help relieve what some have called a serious humanitarian crisis in our own back yard. Last autumn the LCCG launched an initiative to raise sufficient funds to keep another City Harvest Van rolling for 3 years at a cost of £140, 000. Each van delivers thousands of meals every day, distributed through other charities and organisations. This is a fantastic example of grant making bodies collaborating together to make a bigger difference. I’m delighted to say that your Charity, the Tax Advisers’ Charitable Trust, is one of the financial supporters of this initiative. We played our part alongside 79 Livery Companies and Guilds and raised the funds required for a new City Harvest Van to hit the road with almost sufficient funds to keep it on the road for 3 years. It meets so many of our criteria. For every £1.00 we donate I am advised that there is a corresponding social value of £12.70. We’re involved in taking direct action to reduce food poverty and by redistributing surplus food we’re making a positive difference to both society and the planet while living our ESG investment and grant making objectives.
To celebrate this first milestone, City Harvest wrapped the van with Livery Food Initiative logos to endorse our support. On Monday 6 March the Lord Mayor, Alderman Nicholas Lyons, Sheriff Andrew Marsden and their Consorts assembled in Walbrook, City of London, for the launch of this first van. I was delighted that Past Master Marcus Fincham, Past Master Michael Godbee and Court Assistant Vaughan Robinson were able to attend the launch ceremony on behalf of the Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers’ and the Tax Advisers’ Charitable Trust. I am extremely grateful to them. Vaughan took some wonderful photographs of the occasion including a lovely photo of Marcus with Hilary and with the van.
If you would like to know any more about the Livery Food Initiative or about our Charities and their activities, please do not hesitate to get in touch either with me or with any member of the Charities’ Committee.
Lorraine Parkin
Chair
Tax Advisers” Charitable Trust
Tax Advisers’ Benevolent Fund.
Court Assistant Stephen Hodgson was privileged to chair a meeting of the Lord Mayor’s Briefing Group at Mansion House. The Group is a diverse range of tax experts charged with briefing the The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of the City of London on current and emerging UK and international tax issues as he embarks on 12 months of travel to promote the City of London Corporation and UK financial and professional services around the world.
Topics included last week’s UK Autumn Statement, the OECD Global Minimum Corporate Tax, the UK government’s consultation on sovereign immunity, the UK non-domicile regime, UK tax competitiveness, and the impact of Brexit on the UK tax system.
Throughout his year in office, we will continue to provide the Lord Mayor and his team with up-to-date tax briefings as he meets business leaders, politicians, and officials throughout the UK and overseas.
A huge thank you to all the exceptionally talented members of the briefing group for their time and wisdom.
Twenty-two Company members and their guests were given a guided tour of our Guild Church, St Bartholomew the Great, by our Honorary Chaplain, Fr Marcus Walker, one evening in late autumn. The darkness pervaded all as we gathered near the entrance of London’s oldest parish church still in everyday use, it having escaped many hazards over the ages, ranging from the whims of King Henry VIII to the outrages of Adolf Hitler.
We were on the eve of the 900th anniversary of the foundation of the building and adjacent hospital by Prior Rahere on 25th March, 1123, and our guide held aloft a copy of the recently published commemorative book, whose pages expanded on the outline of the tour itself.
The tour progressed round the building in a clockwise direction, passing Rahere’s tomb in the process and noting that his body uniquely lay with the feet pointing towards the altar, rather than away from it; past the Lady Chapel whose roof as a matter of urgency had very recently been repaired; and up the precipitous narrow staircase to the triforium, where there is the prospect of a new museum being created.
The building has seen many changes of use over the centuries, ranging from the provision of children’s education, through the housing of Benjamin Franklin’s printers’ workshop in the area of the Lady Chapel, to the use of the north transept by ironmongers. Many have been the visitors over the years, not least through the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Canon Hubert.
After the tour, we expressed our appreciation of the thoroughly interesting explanation of the history of the building; and those who did not have to hurry home to avoid the worst implications of industrial action on the railway network were able to eat a hearty meal at the nearby Butchers Hook and Cleaver pub.
The attached document provide some information about the financial support that the Livery provides to various charities.
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INTER-LIVERY CHESS CHALLENGE 2022
he first Inter-Livery Chess Challenge took place on 14th July in the palatial surroundings of the Lansdowne Club in London’s Mayfair. The event was originally planned for 2020 but had to be cancelled due to Covid.
After some hard fought games, against the clock, the eventual winners were WCOTA Team 2 consisting of Paul Saunders and Ryan Andrews, both of whom had the benefit of some recent online chess under their belts.
The evening was enjoyed by all and it was very much hoped that it would be repeated in the future. Many participants remarked on how good it was to have the opportunity to play some face to face chess rather than just playing online.
Jeremy Norman (Organiser)
A City walk has become one of the regular fixtures in the WCOTA social calendar, and is an event which has, so far, usually been blessed with good weather. This year’s walk, which was held on 5 July, was no exception, and a group of us gathered in the late afternoon sun for a pre-walk drink outside The Blackfriar Pub before heading off to learn about the lost River Fleet.
The walk was led by Paul Talling from Derelict London. Paul, who is a social historian and photographer of parts of London that are disappearing under new developments, had a fascinating story to tell, both personally and in relation to the River Fleet. We started the walk by the Embankment at Blackfriars, with a partial view of the Fleet’s outfall chamber into the Thames. Paul then explained the Victoria sewage system, before walking us to Smithfield market, stopping to explain the names of some of the lanes en route. Despite working nearby for a number of years, I had never noticed Turnagain Lane, and had no idea of the story behind the name. From Smithfield, we then walked up to the Clerk’s Well (at, guess where?) where the walk finished.
Some of the group not rushing to catch trains home, then enjoyed a convivial supper at Vivat Bacchus.
Several members of the WCoTA and their guests enjoyed a wonderful guided tour of the Chelsea Physic Garden on Thursday 19 May, organised by Bob Harland. The garden is reputed to be one of the oldest botanical gardens in the UK. Since 1673, when Chelsea was a village outside of London, Chelsea Physic Garden has occupied four acres of land on the edge of the Thames. First established by the Apothecaries, and long held by The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries in order to grow medicinal plants, this extraordinary garden has had a wide reaching impact around the world.
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Attached is an update from the Commanding officer of HMS Bangor
From The Master.
In February Ian and I attended the World Traders Tacitus lecture at Guildhall.
A truly scholarly and gripping lecture was given by Professor David Olusoga. After dinner we were privileged to attend a small group for dinner with him and other Livery Masters, together with the sponsors.
This is the email and photograph that the Master has received from the Commanding Officer of HMS Bangor thanking the Company for the Port that we presented to the ship.
Dear Master,
I hope this email finds you and the Company well. I’m getting in touch to say that I took Command of HMS Bangor yesterday from Joel for the next 4 months and therefore just settling back into the Ship and routine. We are due to go to sea on the weekend and blow out the cobwebs before starting a week of assessments to make sure we are at the correct operational level.
Thank you very much for the bottles of port, which I was able to bring out with me and we will save the bottles to celebrate the Queen’s birthday later in the year and of course raise a toast to the Company. Once we have settled in I will make sure that we get a full update out to you with pictures of what your Ship and Crew 8 have been up to.
Kind regards,
Rob
Lt Cdr Rob Couzens Royal Navy | Commanding Officer | MCM1 Crew 8 |HMS BANGOR| BFPO 222 | “Tenax Propositi – Tenacious of Purpose”
The Company will be entering a team for the Pancake Races to be held at Guildhall Yard on 1 March 2022. The Master will be competing and leading the team but we also need two liverymen (One male and one female) to take part as well as a novelty runner in fancy dress!
All those who take part in the race will be provided with a ticket for lunch afterwards.
If you are interested in taking part please contact the Master or Assistant Michael Ashdown [email protected]
Spectators are welcome to attend the race but if you wish to partake of the lunch you will need to buy a ticket in advance, last time the tickets for lunch were £30. If you would like to request a ticket for lunch please contact the Clerk.
The Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers
25th Anniversary Playing Cards
In support of the Tax Advisers’ Charitable Trust (TACT), as part of The Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers 25th Anniversary Appeal, The Charities Committee of The Company has sourced the design and production of a commemorative twinset of playing cards.
There is still time to order these limited edition sets of cards which are bridge deck size and packaged in a decorative tuckbox. Both the cards and the tuckbox are printed to acknowledge the celebration of 25 years since the founding of The Company and its Charities. The backs of the cards reflect the Livery colours, badge, and motto. The Court cards are bespoke to reflect various forms of taxation through the ages, along with a specially designed ace of spades.
The twin pack sets make a wonderful keepsake to celebrate the 25th anniversary and will also make superb corporate gifts or personal gifts. By purchasing these cards you are enabling TACT to increase its charitable grants and donations across a variety of deserving causes in London.
The price per twinset is £20.00. plus an additional contribution of £3.50 per set towards postage and packaging. For bulk orders of 20 sets or more, postage will be approximately £20.00. Orders will be dispatched upon receipt of payment.
To order your set(s) please complete the form below and send it, via email, to [email protected], please make payment upon placing your order.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Name …………………………
Number of sets required
@ £20.00 per set =
To be collected on 14 December
Mailed (UK) @ £3.50 postage and packaging per set
or £20.00 per bulk order of 20 sets =
Please provide your delivery address …………………………………………………………………………………………
Grand total
Payment is to be made to the Tax Advisers’ Charitable Trust.
HSBC, sort code: 40-03-17, account number: 01134493, reference: cards