Your life crosses borders. A home in London, another in Andalusia, children settled in the Gulf, a business with operations in three countries, a will that works under English law but not in Spain. You are bouncing between advisers who rarely speak to each other. After twenty-five years between London, Madrid and the GCC, I write here for you — about the human side of cross-border life, and how the law can serve it.
Continue Reading Welcome to The International Private Client
I have spent much of my working life at the seam between two legal traditions, and I know of few instruments that sit on that seam as uneasily as the trust. To a common law adviser it is the most ordinary thing in the world. It separates legal title from
Continue Reading Anglo-Saxon trusts in Spain: the problem of selective transparency
Against the fashion for writing off mined stones, we make the case for the natural diamond — properly verified — as a defensible asset that supports workers and economies in the countries producing them. The point isn’t to wave ethics away but to do the work: blockchain traceability where the seller will give it, provenance written into the contract, authentication never taken from the brochure. A diamond crossing borders is an asset crossing borders, which brings customs, VAT, anti-money-laundering rules, succession planning, and holding structure into play. Verify substance, not slogan.
Continue Reading The Ethics of Sparkle: Why Your Natural Diamond Isn’t a Hollywood Villain
In a recent Financial Times op-ed, Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to the United States, set out why his country has walked away from OPEC after nearly sixty years — confident, unapologetic, sin complejos. For HNWIs and family offices, that is more than a headline; it is a signal. But relocating successfully takes more than sunshine and 0% tax. It takes treaty strategy, legal substance, and advisors who see the whole board.
Continue Reading The UAE Looks Forward. So Must the International Private Client
In the High Court in London, or the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid, there is a dress code. It is unspoken, yet strictly enforced by the collective gaze of the bench, the bar, and the public gallery. Most advisers will give you the standard script: “Wear a dark suit.
Continue Reading The Theatre of the Law: Should You Really Dress Like You’re Innocent?
For centuries Colombian emeralds have symbolised status and beauty, adorning the crowns of royalty and the collections of the world’s most discerning connoisseurs. In recent years that perception has shifted. Beyond their aesthetic allure, fine Colombian emeralds are now recognised as a sophisticated investment asset class. Ultra-high-net-worth investors and family
Continue Reading Colombian Emeralds: From Emotion to Allocation to Compliance — A Cross-Border Guide for International Private Clients
The era of taxing companies is giving way to the era of taxing wealth. That is the central argument of my latest article, “Why Private Wealth is the Next Tax Frontier”, published this month in Taxation — the LexisNexis/Tolley title that has been the United Kingdom’s leading journal for tax professionals for over a century. You can read the full piece at https://www.taxation.co.uk/articles/why-private-wealth-is-the-next-tax-frontier
Continue Reading Why private wealth is the next tax frontier
The Financial Times interviewed me for its piece on how democracies should tax the super rich without driving them out. My contribution ran with my position unchanged from what I set out earlier this year in the Tax Journal in my article Why Private Wealth Is The Next Tax Frontier
Continue Reading The problem with taxing the rich
“Unfortunately, tax ‘leniency’ in a low‑ or nil‑tax jurisdiction does not change how other states determine taxing rights,” said Fernando Del Canto, a Spanish lawyer and barrister based in London.
“Countries are sovereign and they don’t want their tax base to be eroded; they don’t want their tax [rights] to
Continue Reading HMRC ‘unlikely to be lenient’ with tax exiles fleeing Dubai, advisers warn
When families begin planning for the future, the discussion often starts: and unfortunately ends: with legal documents, tax structures, and asset protection. Don’t get me wrong, these are the essential “bones” of any succession plan. Without them, the skeleton collapses. But they are only part of a much larger, more
Continue Reading Is Succession Planning Just About Legal Documents and Tax?