The Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers
CITY OF LONDON
Founded 1995 & Incorporated by Royal Charter 2009
The Master
Mike Gibbons
MASTER OF THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF TAX ADVISERS
I am a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants owning and managing a general practice in London’s West End. I joined the firm straight from school and qualified in 1983 I progressed through the firm leading to an equity stake in 1988 and took control of the firm in 2014. My specialty is business advice to owner managed businesses often acting as non-executive advisor to the Board for businesses ranging from start-ups to well established companies. I also provide proactive tax advice to a number of high-net-worth individuals and work closely with a range of professionals to give clients a one stop shop whilst retaining independent advice from individual advisors.
I am the Volunteer Commissioner Operations for St John Ambulance having joined the Charity as a Cadet in London in 1972 and have served the Charity in a number of roles over his career mostly in respect of operational deployments in London. Those roles saw me overseeing the planning and delivery of most high profile events in the Capital from State Occasions to London Marathon or Notting Hill Carnival. In 2021 I was appointed a Knight of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem for services to the Charity both operationally but on its various Committees, as a District Manager and in managing the coordination centre during the Covid response. In the Birthday Honours list 2023 I was awarded an MBE for voluntary services to the Charity.
In September 2023 I was installed as Master of the Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers having previously served as the Chairman of their Charity Committee and sat on various other committees.
Deputy Master
Bob Harland
Bob Harland started his career in the National Westminster Bank’s Trust Department, where he identified his interest in taxation, prompting him to move into accountancy. He spent most of his career with PwC, focusing on the taxation of wealthy individuals and their families. He travelled extensively both in respect of work for private clients and as an adviser to financial institutions based in the major tax havens that undertook trust work. His familiarity with the changing regulatory and taxation landscape affecting the tax havens, and the tax efficient use of offshore structures, led to work for several of their governments as they adjusted to the more transparent environment we see today.
Since retiring from professional work he has supported a small number of his former clients in managing their wealth and their relationships with their professional advisers and with HM Revenue & Customs.
He is a chartered accountant and a retired member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
Bob’s principal leisure interests are walking, and gardening: he is a lifelong supporter of Reading FC .
Bob and his wife, Jane, each have three children.
Recent Past Masters
Sue Christensen
Sue Christensen was educated at Broughton Hall Convent of Mercy in Liverpool and joined the Inland Revenue in Liverpool the day after finishing her A levels on 4th July 1966. The job was intended to be a stopgap until she was old enough to commence studies at The Royal Manchester College of Music as a vocal scholar
She moved to Garnett Crewdson Chartered Accountants in Manchester in 1969 to combine work and study, eventually deciding that as tax was fascinating and brought in a regular salary it was preferable as a career!
She is a member of the Committee of The Brigantes Association for London Liverymen in the North of England helping to arrange events on both sides of the Pennines for the many hundreds of members. Her tax practice in Manchester caters for the Theatre, TV & Music industries.
She married Ian in 2006, another keen musician, and between them they have 3 children and 6 grandchildren to keep them very busy.
Paul Morton 2019-29
Paul Morton is an undergraduate student of mathematical physics (from September 2019). Previously, he was appointed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to be Director of the Office of Tax Simplification from March 2017 to January 2019. Prior to that he was Tax Director for RELX Group plc (formerly Reed Elsevier), the global information and analytics group, for twelve years. He was actively engaged with the OECD and tax policy makers in the UK, US and the Netherlands and at EU level on tax policy matters relating to the digital economy and many other aspects of tax policy. Previously, he was a tax manager and adviser at Royal Dutch Shell in a number of UK and overseas roles over a period of 16 years. He moved to Shell from KPMG where he focused on international tax and insurance companies. He began his career in tax, after reading Microbiology at University College London, when he joined the Inland Revenue as a tax inspector.
For nine years, he chaired the Lord Mayor’s Tax Briefing Group which provides briefing papers for the Lord Mayor ahead of overseas visits.
Marcus Fincham BSc ACMA CTA MCSI 2018-19
Marcus Fincham BSc ACMA CTA MCSI was born in London and is a British citizen. Whilst on an Army Scholarship he obtained a degree from Reading University in Agriculture, which involved a period at Wageningen University in The Netherlands. Following practice as an agricultural consultant he retrained and became a practicing accountant and qualified as an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and a Member of the Chartered Securities Institute. He moved to Hamilton Lunn, a hedge fund and private equity boutique, based in London. He has been the General Manager of Al-Marruna Limited, a dedicated office for a prominent Middle Eastern family, since its establishment in 2003. He represents the family on all investment matters and serves on a variety of boards in this regard with a focus in the property, oil & gas and automotive sectors.
Besides his active interest in the City, Marcus owns and runs an organic sheep & arable farm in Hampshire and takes great pleasure in actively participating in Rolls Royce Enthusiasts Club rallies.
Morag Loader FCA, CTA, ACIB, MA (Cantab) 2017-18
Morag Loader is the Finance Director of Operis Group plc, a consultancy specialising in project finance for infrastructure projects, where she also heads up the client facing Tax and Accounting team. She is a Chartered Banker, a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Tax Adviser. She holds an MA from Cambridge University in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic and Arabic.
Her first career move was into Lloyds Bank, where she became a Chartered Banker, the first of her three chartered qualifications. After 5 years, in 1992, she decided to switch into tax via the accountancy route and joined one of Deloitte's London offices where she became a Chartered Accountant and then a Chartered Tax Adviser, specialising in corporate tax. Her time at Deloitte included a secondment to BAA. At Deloitte she gained a wide range of corporate tax experience, working for both UK and overseas companies. Morag then moved to KPMG where she became involved in tax for PPP infrastructure projects, property tax and capital allowances.
Her current work includes advising bidders (often large construction companies) looking to win an infrastructure project contract, or lenders looking to invest in or finance one. In 2014 Operis opened a second office in Toronto, Canada to service the growing infrastructure project market there. Initially the office was staffed with UK secondees, but is now mainly staffed with local hires. Morag consequently has a very good knowledge of Canadian tax!
Morag is a member of the CIOT's Corporate Taxes Sub-Committee and has lectured and provided training on a variety of subjects including tax and accounting for PPP, transfer pricing, BEPS and other aspects of corporation tax. In the City, Morag has been the Tax Advisers' representative on the Financial Services Group of Livery Companies. She also organises the History of Tax meetings for the Tax Advisers' Company.
Besides her interest in the City of London, Morag is a keen traveller, walker, Scottish dancer and active benefactor of the charity Butterfly Conservation for which she regularly walks a couple of transects, collecting annual data on butterfly species distribution. She also enjoys opera, ballet and visiting art galleries when she has time.
Kevin Thomas FCA CTA ATT BSc 2016-17
Kevin is a Chartered Accountant, Chartered Tax Advisor and member of the Association of Tax Technicians. Kevin graduated with an honours degree in Mathematics and then trained as a general practice accountant and auditor. Upon qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, he took the tax exams of the Chartered Institute of Tax and moved into tax 1990.
Kevin trained with Essex based practice Bird Luckin and was appointed a partner in 1994. He remained with that practice, now called Rickard Luckin Limited, and sits on the Management, Tax, and IT committees.
In his tax professional role Kevin believes passionately that the business should plan ahead and seek quality help and guidance, thus realising in full their aims and ambitions. He specialises in helping owner managed business, the SME sector, sole traders, partnerships and individuals in areas such Corporate and Personal Tax; VAT; Tax planning; Succession planning; International Services; Payroll; and Charity & Not-for-profit.
Kevin joined the Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers’ in 2000 and became Treasurer and Court Assistant in 2008. He was Renter Warden in 2014/15 and Upper Warden in 2015/16 being installed as Master on 21 September 2016.
Kevin is a Trustee and Treasurer of TaxAid (UK) a charity dedicated to helping people on low incomes with tax problems who cannot afford to pay for expert advice and assistance. He is also Treasurer of a number of associations covering such topics as politics, help for young disadvantaged children, and historical sites.
Besides the livery company and his keen interest in the City of London, Kevin is a keen traveller, walker, runner, swimmer, and cyclist. Having run a number of marathons, in 2016 he widened the challenge and has since taken part in a number of triathlons. His latest project is to walk the 630 mile South West Coast path. Kevin is married with two children.
Anthony Thomas 2015-16
Anthony Thomas has been a tax practitioner with Thomas & Company for more than 30 years based in Coventry and with a special interest in the taxation aspects of smaller business and the professions.
He is a member of the council of the Chartered Institute of Taxation [CIOT] being the national president in 2011/12 and is now currently chairman of the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group [LITRG]. This group is an initiative of the CIOT and their work is focused on the impact of tax on lower income and vulnerable people.
Anthony is also a Chartered certified Accountant and a member of the ATT [Association of Taxation Technicians] having being their president in 2002/03. His outside interests consist of music, and particularly playing the piano and organ..
John R Dewhurst LLB(Lond)(Hons), BCL(Oxon), B Proc(SA), CTA(Fellow) 2013-14
John Dewhurst was elected Master of the Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers in June 2013 and was installed as Master for the 2013/14 year on 23rd September 2013.
He started his career as an academic, lecturing in law at what is now the University of Zimbabwe. He then practised as an attorney in Johannesburg, South Africa. Since 1979 he has specialised as an international tax practitioner in London and is principle at Chown Dewhurst LLP. He is a Fellow and a Past Council Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT). He was until recently the Chairman of the CIOT's Advanced Diploma in International Taxation Sub-Committee.
John has been a trustee of several charities and is part of one of the London Conferences of the St Vincent de Paul Society founded in Paris 200 years ago to provide practical help to the poor. He and his wife Susan also took part in running a Marriage Preparation Course for engaged couples as they lived in Surrey prior to moving to London in 2006.
John's other interests include opera, theatre, reading and travel. He and Susan have two children and three grandchildren.
