Deloitte has announced two new senior appointments to partner within its burgeoning private client services practice – tax specialists Kirsten Tassell and Adam Waller.

Commenting on the new appointments Paula Higgleton, head of UK private client services for Deloitte, said: “Our ongoing commitment is to help wealthy individuals protect and enhance their assets by providing them with advice and a compliance service that is second to none. Kirsten and Adam bring a wealth of experience and will further strengthen the private client services practice at Deloitte.”

Kirsten Tassell specialises in providing tax advice to high net worth individuals. She has significant experience in the private client tax area providing bespoke solutions to tax issues. She also acts for a number of trustees both in the UK and offshore and is a regular speaker at conferences both within the firm and externally to clients and other professional organisations. Kirsten is based in the Cambridge office.

Adam Waller is a member of the Employer and Personal Tax team within the private client services practice working on a diverse portfolio of private clients. Adam works with business leaders and entrepreneurs, advising them on their personal, family and business tax affairs. He qualified in 1998 and is based in Leeds.

Paula Higgleton added: “This is an exciting time for the private client services practice which has seen rapid growth and recognition in the market. We recently received the award for Accountancy Firm of the Year for the second consecutive year at the 2008 Citywealth Private Client Awards.”

Ernst & Young smoothes out crunch-time bumps for Canadian tax professionals with an updated version of their annual tome on personal tax returns: Ernst & Young’s Guide to Preparing 2007 Personal Tax Returns. This year’s edition is filled with updates on new rules and hot topics, including:

• pension income splitting
• eliminating capital gains on gifts of public company shares to private foundations
• RESP rule changes
• increased capital gain deduction limits for small business shares and farming/fishing property

“This is such a busy time of year,” notes Gena Katz, tax executive director at Ernst & Young. “This guide saves you time by collecting the newest updates and comprehensive guidelines in one easy-to-use resource.” Ernst & Young’s Guide to Preparing 2007 Personal Tax Returns is published by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants each year. The guide is available in both print and online editions. The print edition includes a reference CD that contains a searchable version of the book, along with all referenced source materials. The Internet edition reproduces all materials in the print edition and links to more than 50,000 cross-referenced documents, thousands of CRA rulings and cases, legislative references and Department of Finance explanatory notes.

To order a copy of Ernst & Young’s Guide to Preparing 2007 Personal Tax Returns, go to knotia.ca/store/07t1eypr

Chris Sanger, Ernst & Young’s Head of Tax Policy expects the following to be included in the Budget:

• The new 18% flat rate of capital gains tax will be once again confirmed together with details of the entrepreneur’s relief. The changes for taxpayers who are resident in the UK but not domiciled here will be clarified to reassure those who are considering leaving the UK as a result of the proposals.
• The rate of income tax has been fixed by his predecessor but national insurance contributions are still up for grabs by the new Chancellor.
• The Chancellor is expected to introduce measures, perhaps a change in the rate of relief, to minimise the impact that the reduction in the basic rate of income tax has had on the tax relief received by charities.
• Joint taxation of spouses was abolished in 1990 and, while this is unlikely to ever be reintroduced, are we starting to see signs that the tax system is being used to create a family unit for tax purposes. We only have to look at the tax credits regime which is based on the concept of family income to see the beginnings of a shift of approach.Next, the Government has indicated its intention to act to tackle what it calls income shifting, in other words, the arrangement of affairs so that one spouse’s income is diverted to another in order to gain a tax advantage from their lower tax rate. A consultation finished on 28 February 2008 and further details are expected in the Budget although it remains difficult to see how the proposals will work in practice.Finally, the Chancellor will take another opportunity to outline the details of the transfer between spouses of the inheritance tax exemption. Is this the final step towards taxation of the family unit or can we expect to see more developments on 12 March?
• The changes to the trust rules come into effect from April but a number of uncertainties remain. Most forms of trust are affected by the new rules but many taxpayers are unaware. The changes make planning families’ wealth much more difficult which does not fit with the Chancellor’s simplicity objective and may prompt him to amend some of the key changes.
• Green taxes are sure to be on the agenda with either further measures to encourage householders to implement green strategies or showroom taxes to discourage the purchase of cars with high emissions
• With the credit crunch really starting to bite now, the Chancellor should consider measures to encourage saving like the extension and simplification of ISAs.
• Finally, if the Chancellor really wants to cement his position as the man in control of the Treasury, reforming the antiquated stamp duty land tax regime from a slab to a graduated system would be a great place to start and would bring a fresh approach to the housing market. Chris concludes “It’s going to take something big for the Chancellor to change the first impressions of UK taxpayers but with the current economic climate, this may be difficult. The Chancellor made a good start with his commitment to competitiveness, fairness and simplicity and we now need to see some evidence of this in practice.”