THE THIRD ESTATE PLANNING CONFERENCE: CURRENT ISSUES 2004
Presented by Matthew Hutton
Reviewed by Mark McLaughlin ATII ATT TEP
I must admit that I was already an advocate of the lecturer's conferences,
having attended one in 2003. The 2004 version was, in my view, even better!
When originally invited to cover the 2004 Estate Planning conference, the
intention was to highlight technical issues and planning points. Then 'Taxation'
publication decided to cover the conference (presumably for one of their excellent
'Meeting Points' articles). This gave me the opportunity to review the seminar
from a slightly different angle. What follows is therefore an overview of
the day, for those professionals who may be interested in attending an Estate
Planning Conference later this year.
For technical points from the conference, watch out for the 'Taxation' feature
(or alternatively I may ask Matthew for an article or some extracts from his
notes for TaxationWeb!).
The Venue
Getting up at 4.15 a.m. to catch a flight from Manchester to London is not
my idea of a good time, but I am pleased to report that the conference was
well worth the effort! I arrived at the venue (The Law Society, London WC2)
fairly early. My first impression was that the venue was highly impressive,
and very comfortable surroundings for a full-day conference.
The Conference Notes
An innovative feature of the lecturer's conferences is that you get a 'sneak'
preview of the contents in advance. Some days earlier, I received by e-mail
a set of notes - 'Advance Context Reading For Delegates'. This is a condensed
version of the full notes, containing the main points (over 39 pages in total).
Context reading in advance is an excellent idea in my opinion. I arrived at
the conference in a much more prepared state than would otherwise be the case.
The full notes were a comprehensive 224 pages in length! They were presented
in an attractive hardback folder. The notes provided an excellent commentary
on the subject matter, and were a helpful accompaniment to the conference
presentation. They are also very useful to take back to the office for future
reference.
[ Matthew has kindly offered his notes for purchase at a special price for
TaxationWeb visitors at £50 (inclusive of VAT) for 224 pages in an attractive
hardback folder. Click here for the order form.
]
The Refreshments(!)
Before commenting on the conference content, a word on the refreshments
(I make no apologies for this, as some delegates take refreshments very seriously!).
The tea or coffee in the morning and afternoon breaks was fairly routine,
but the lunch was delicious! A little too appetising, in fact - especially
the desert, which had me fighting to stay awake and alert in the early afternoon!
Conference Content
So to the conference content. My view of the technical level is that it
is pitched at a far more advanced level than the majority of tax seminars.
Reference was made in the conference notes and during the lectures to the
views of tax Counsel, which was quite illuminating.
The conference was held on Tuesday 29th June, when Finance Bill 2004 had
not yet received Royal Assent. Many changes had already been made to FB 2004
since it was originally published. The lecturer brought delegates up-to-date
with the main changes, many of which (e.g. in respect of the 'pre-owned assets'
tax) were highly significant.
The conference was divided into lectures on the following:
- Capital Gains Tax mitigation in the light of the restrictions on holdover
relief;
- The pre-owned assets regime from April 2005: Getting to live with it;
- The family home: Will structuring and lifetime giving now;
- Business and Agricultural Property Relief: Practical planning suggestions
for BPR and maximising APR on the farmhouse;
- Taxation of (and planning with) trusts; and
- The family company
The lectures were covered in the above order. At this point, I have to confess
that due to industrial action by workers on the London Underground (perfect
timing!) I had to leave the conference during e) above, and missed f) completely.
Never mind, the subject matter is covered in detail in the notes (a little
light bedtime reading, perhaps!). Anyway, my main interest (an interest apparently
shared by most delegates' - hence the reason for the lecturer covering them
early on and in great detail) concerned the CGT holdover relief restrictions,
and also the 'pre-owned assets' tax regime.
The lecturer's presentation incorporated slides which could be cross-referenced
to the conference notes (the points in the slides being highlighted in bold
type in the notes, a most helpful aide). A further impressive feature of the
lecture presentation is that there are regular opportunities to ask questions
- both verbal and written - which I think is always a brave characteristic
of any speaker! Fielding 'ad hoc' questions is never easy, but the lecturer
handled them very skilfully indeed.
I was going to include some examples of technical points in this review,
but will resist the temptation, perhaps in favour of a later article. In any
event, as previously mentioned anyone who reads 'Taxation' will doubtless
be reading an article on technical points from the Estate Planning Course
at some point.
Matthew Hutton is clearly a capital taxes specialist. His combination of
in-depth knowledge and practical insight over many years as a tax adviser
is reflected in the very high standard of his lectures. He is an accomplished
speaker who (in my experience) is highly respected among his peers. His views
are worthy of one's close attention.
Overall
A final thought. This conference represents excellent value for money in
terms of reading material, presentation and content. The cost is £250
plus VAT, with a 10% discount for those who have attended a previous Estate
Planning conference. Notes are available at £50 per set (click here to order),
in case you are unable to attend. To keep up-to-date with Matthew's forthcoming
seminars and conferences, keep your eye on TaxationWeb's Tax Events.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the day-long conference, and benefited greatly
from the lecturer's expert analysis. I fully intend coming to 'Estate Planning
2005'. And I understand that the conference is coming to the Manchester area
next year, so I can have a 'lie in' compared to my 4.15 a.m. start this year!
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Disclaimer
The views expressed in this review are those of the writer only and not
necessarily those of TaxationWeb. No responsibility can be accepted by the
writer or TaxationWeb for any loss arising from action undertaken or refrained
from as a result of this review.
Mark McLaughlin
July 2004
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