Insights & News

Matthew Rowbotham comments for Essential Retail: Sharing is caring, and a bit daring – should you be preparing?

10 March 2017

Matthew Rowbotham, Head of Tax, Reward and Incentives, takes a look at why e-tailers should consider employee ownership.

You will NOT believe what the Chancellor did next!

09 March 2017

Except of course, you probably will believe it. It’s a Budget, not an M Night Shyamalan film. And even by the standards of Budgets, it’s rare for a Chancellor to do as much as Philip Hammond has to set expectations for surprise and drama this low. In fact, some were surprised about some of the things the Chancellor didn’t do on, for example, self-employment. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Clarification on tax changes for the public sector ‘off-payroll’ workers

22 February 2017

HM Revenue & Customs has issued guidance on forthcoming changes to the IR35 rules where workers provide their services to a public authority through a personal services company (“PSC”), i.e. a company owned and controlled by the worker.

Lewis Silkin advises Blend Media on successful seed funding

Deal

17 February 2017

Lewis Silkin is advising innovative content start-up Blend Media on its growth strategy, and has helped the company to complete its latest round of funding.

Tax treatment of termination payments – draft legislation published

20 December 2016

Over the past couple of years, the Government has been consulting on proposals to make a number of changes to the tax and national insurance (“NI”) treatment of termination payments.

Lewis Silkin advises Be Heard Group Plc on its acquisition of Kameleon Worldwide Limited

Deal

15 December 2016

Lewis Silkin has advised Be Heard Group plc, a digital marketing services group, on its 100% share capital acquisition of Kameleon Worldwide Limited, an award-winning content marketing agency.

Gender pay gap reporting – final regulations published!

07 December 2016

After a long wait, the final version of the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017 has been published.

Matthew Rowbotham comments in The Ranconteur: Putting an end to corporate tax controversy

Press

06 December 2016

Matthew Rowbotham, Partner and Head of Tax law, comments in an article for the Ranconteur which discusses how the moral dimension in tax is now important to high-profile businesses

Tax treatment of termination payments – simplification at last?

29 November 2016

The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement included some welcome news regarding the forthcoming reform of the tax and national insurance (“NI”) treatment of termination payments. The Government launched a consultation to simplify the rules in 2016.

New PAYE and NIC rules for ‘off-payroll’ workers in public sector confirmed

29 November 2016

In May 2016, the Government published a consultation paper outlining proposals to amend the IR35 legislation for workers who provide services, via a personal services company (“PSC”), to a public sector engager, whether directly or through a third party (such as an employment agency or outsourcing firm).

Sleight of Ha(mmo)nd: Autumn Statement 2016

24 November 2016

I was all ready to write about how the Autumn Statement was an audacious piece of misdirection, using a flashy reduction of corporation tax (to the much-rumoured rate of 15%, or maybe lower) to detract from less welcome announcements.

Tax treatment of termination payments - the sting in the tail

16 August 2016

In 2015, the Government launched a consultation to simplify the tax and national insurance (“NI”) treatment of termination payments. As previously reported, following that consultation the Government announced that it proposed to amend the rules with effect from 6 April 2018.

UBS and Deutsche Bank tax cases: HMRC wins in Supreme Court

Press

24 March 2016

Recently the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the UBS and Deutsche Bank bonus tax avoidance cases. After the banks had succeeded in the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court decided that in fact a “purposive interpretation” of the legislation meant that the schemes failed. HMRC therefore won and millions of pounds of PAYE and NIC will have to be paid. However the case is most interesting for the approach the Supreme Court takes. It shows the extent to which the courts are sometimes prepared to go in interpreting the legislation in such a way that tax avoidance schemes will not succeed. Lewis Silkin tax expert Matthew Rowbotham wrote about the case for the April 2016 issue of PLC Magazine.

Lewis Silkin advises 3 Monkeys on sale to Zeno Group

Deal

17 February 2016

Lewis Silkin has advised 3 Monkeys Communications Limited, one of the UK's biggest independent PR agencies, on its sale to global consultancy network Zeno Group, the sister agency of Edelman.

Remuneration in financial services - new rules on deferral and clawback

29 June 2015

New rules on deferral and clawback of variable remuneration are set out in a joint policy statement issued by the Prudential Regulation Authority (“PRA”) and the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”). They will apply to variable remuneration awarded for performance periods beginning on or after 1 January 2016.

Lewis Silkin advises France-based Raja Group on acquisition of Morplan, mail order distributor to UK’s retail and fashion industry

Deal

19 March 2015

Lewis Silkin has advised France-based Raja Group, the leading European industrial packaging distributor, on its acquisition of Morplan, the number one B2B mail order distributor to UK’s retail and fashion industry.

Streamlining partnership: The wider impact of the UK LLP tax changes

Press

13 June 2014

In an article for Managing Partner, Fergus Payne discusses the impact of controversial UK LLP tax changes.

Finding your way to the exit - preparing the agency for sale

Press

25 April 2014

In an article for BrandRepublic, Matthew Rowbotham discusses the essential questions that agencies thinking about a sale should ask themselves.

Bankers' bonuses: Curbing excess

Press

14 June 2013

In an article written for PLC Magazine, Colin Leckey, Victoria Goode and Ailsa Murdoch discuss a recent ruling that investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort must uphold a promise made at the height of the financial crisis to guarantee a minimum €400 million bonus pool to a group of bankers at its London office.

Thorny problems

Press

17 April 2013

In an article for Taxation magazine, Sara Cohen discusses the Office of Tax Simplification's proposals for unapproved share schemes.