The answer is, probably more often than you might think!
Most business transactions and many personal endeavours will have some tax implications. Often there are ways in which they can be structured in order to minimise taxes including capital gains tax, stamp duty land tax, inheritance tax and VAT along with income and corporation taxes.
Just a few examples of where tax advice should be sought upfront include:
- acquiring or transferring properties;
- making EIS or other venture capital tax advantaged investments;
- making large one-off pension contributions in a given tax year;
- starting a new business or venture; and
- when someone down the pub gives you a ‘foolproof’ way to save some tax!
If in doubt, please pick up the phone and have a quick conversation. It is much easier to ensure that something is carried out in the most tax efficient way before the event rather than trying to unravel unintended consequences at a later date.