Law specialisms : Corporate tax

Gareth Miles is a tax partner at Slaughter and May. He has extensive experience of advising on corporate, commercial and financing transactions.

Corporate tax is a wide area, effectively covering all of the tax issues associated with corporate transactions. While corporation tax will often be the most prominent tax that needs to be considered, a corporate tax practitioner would also need to advise on all other direct taxes that may be relevant, as well as any applicable indirect taxes (Value Added Tax being the most likely one). 

What does the work involve?

Corporate tax practitioners will generally be found at larger firms, both those based in London and throughout the UK. The largest corporate tax departments are at City firms and large national firms. The main types of work can generally be classified into three categories - transactional, consultancy and disputes work. 

A significant proportion of a corporate tax practitioner's time will be spent on transactional work and there will be different aspects to that. Initial stages are likely to involve significant amounts of structuring work. That is followed by the 'negotiations with the counterparty' stage and, finally, the documentation and execution of the transaction stage. 

Bear in mind though that transaction types vary enormously. Some may be very tax intensive, such as leasing; others may require only limited tax input. The amount of consultancy work that a corporate tax practitioner undertakes varies enormously between firms and even within firms. Some extremely well-established tax practitioners may spend virtually all of their time doing this type of work. What clients are generally looking for in relation to consultancy services are constructive and innovative tax solutions.
 
Disputes work is becoming an increasingly important area of work for corporate tax practitioners. Many firms have well-established tax dispute resolution practices which regularly represent clients in a wide range of disputes with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC). However, not all disputes result in litigation and a significant part of disputes work involves the negotiation of settlements with HMRC.

Tax law develops constantly. Currently the legislation alone runs to thousands of pages, and every year a new Finance Act is enacted. Keeping up to date with all the changes is a significant task in itself.

Who are the clients?

Almost all commercial transactions have tax implications and tax considerations will invariably affect and sometimes even dictate the form of a transaction. The type and range of clients that a corporate tax practitioner will deal with vary from firm to firm, but most are likely to be UK corporates. Other clients will include hedge funds, private equity vehicles, investment vehicles, financial institutions, non-UK corporates and governmental bodies. 

Clients tend to be sophisticated and know what they want, sometimes requiring definitive advice in tight timescales. The work is often, therefore, intensive and can, although not invariably, require long hours.

What do trainees do?

Trainees who spend some time in a corporate tax department will get a feel for the subject, but they should not expect to finish their tax seat with an in-depth understanding of the issues that arise. Even after qualification, it takes some time before being able to successfully advise without extremely close supervision.

There is often a misconception that very good numeracy skills are essential for corporate tax; this is not the case. Corporate tax lawyers do not generally get involved in the figures; those are left to the accountants.