Sport Stars, Influencers & Entertainers Tax 2023 - 2nd Annual Forum

Sofia trained and qualified in personal tax at PwC before going onto work at Citibank. She holds qualifications with the UKs premier tax institution, The Chartered Institute of Taxation.  She brings all this experience and much more to all of her work and is best placed to provide tax advice on any range of personal tax issues that may arise during a divorce. From one party being under HMRC investigation to capital gains tax positions on multiple property holdings Sofia can provide quick, effective and clear advice.

Morag Ofili is an employed Barrister who is able to provide a wide range of private client litigation and contentious tax services ranging from tribunal litigation and cross-border tax investigations, to trust and estate disputes, fraud, judicial review and professional negligence claims.

Morag is listed in the Spears 500 as a rising star and in Chambers and Partners (HNW) as an associate to watch where one interviewee commented:

“She is a really strong litigator and big on cross-border movement of capital. She is very strong on complex and technical issues, she is fast to come up with practical solutions and she is very client-friendly.” 

In addition to contentious work, Morag is also able to advise clients (predominantly in the film and entertainment sector) on their business interests and any possible tax risks when structuring their affairs around the world.”

Alex has 30 years’ experience in US and UK personal tax, providing complex planning and assistance to high-net-worth individuals; he joined R&H’s London US/UK Tax team from EY Frank Hirth in December 2021.

Alex’s specialist areas include: private equity, hedge funds and real estate funds, personal tax issues related to fund structuring and reward, and specialist advice for entertainment and sports clients.

Alex’s wide experience and specialist knowledge also includes the UK/US double tax treaty, pension issues, the UK treatment of limited liability company (LLC) interests and carried interest. He also advises on US/UK interactions on personal income, capital gains, social security, estate taxes, and inheritance and trusts.

Heading up RPC's Tax Disputes offering, Adam Craggs has over 30 years' experience in the contentious tax and white collar crime field.

An accredited mediator, Adam advises on a wide range of contentious tax issues (direct and indirect taxes), including HMRC enquiries and litigation before the Tax Tribunals/ Higher Courts, and white collar crime investigations. 

During his career, he spent 16 years in the Solicitor's Office at HMRC, where he provided legal advice on a large number of high-profile civil and criminal cases.

Adam is the co-author of Tolley's 'A Practical Guide to Tax Appeals' and a contributor to 'Whiteman & Sherry on Income Tax' and 'Whiteman & Sherry on Capital Gains Tax'. He is also the author of a number of guidance notes written for Tolley's 'Online Guidance' and the author of two practice notes written for PLC on alternative dispute resolution in tax disputes and criminal prosecutions for tax fraud.

Adam writes and lectures widely on tax matters and is a regular contributor to RPC's Tax blog, Tax Take.

Partner at Harris & Trotter LLP a leading firm of accountants, auditors and tax advisors in the Digital Asset space. Working with a variety of crypto native organisations ranging from start ups to some of the largest entities in the world, including the likes of 1inch, Blockchain.com, The Sandbox, Wintermute and Bitfury.

Emma’s focus is on emerging tax policy, and she works closely with HMRC and the Treasury.  She also strongly believes in sharing her knowledge about and love of tax with others.  Whether that’s members of the accounting and tax profession through articles and talks, or the general public through media work and school visits.

Emma has a main focus on business and employment taxes, and frequently contributes articles on topical tax issues to leading tax and accountancy publications. She has presented talks and webinars around the country, as well as appearing on BBC Radio 5Live and BBC News to discuss tax issues and providing oral evidence to committees of both the House of Lords and House of Commons.

Emma is a member of the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) and Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW).

Mario is specialized in taxation of individuals, in particular high net worth individuals and family wealth management. He has gained a significant competence with regard to tax related matters in the sport industry, advising several sports clubs, federations, professional athletes (including footballers and professional drivers in Formula 1 and MotoGP).

Michelle Sloane specialises in the resolution of tax disputes and white collar crime. She advises both corporates and individuals on complex tax enquiries, tax assessments and criminal investigations.

Michelle has particular expertise in relation to VAT, and customs and excise duty disputes. Michelle has in-depth experience of high value appeals at all levels including before the Tax Tribunals, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and Court of Justice of the European Union. Her expertise includes Judicial Review proceedings scrutinising HMRC’s conduct.

She also advises those facing HMRC criminal investigations, allegations of participating in missing trader intra-community fraud and assists clients manage urgent issues such as HMRC "dawn raids".

Before moving to the UK in 2006, Michelle worked for the New Zealand government as a tax investigator and legal adviser to the tax investigations team where she gained valuable insight into the decision making process of revenue authorities

Michelle has been recognised as Next Generation Partner for Customs and Excise and Tax Litigation and Investigations by The Legal 500 UK (2021). 

Sam has a busy practice covering the full gamut of UK tax and commercial/chancery law. He is regularly instructed in the High Court and the tax tribunals, both unled and as a specialist tax and/or property junior.

Sam read law at St John’s College, Cambridge, where he was a scholar and came 6th in the University. He then studied for the BCL at Christ Church, Oxford, obtaining a Distinction and topping the year in Personal Taxation. At the age of just 22 he was offered teaching positions at both Oxford and Cambridge and taught both land and tort law to undergraduates.

Sam’s experience of business, property and general commercial work makes him the ideal choice for complex litigation which involves issues than span beyond tax. He deals with tax issues that arise in all contexts, including sports law, professional negligence, insolvency, and judicial review. Recent instructions have come from significant UK PLCs, UHNW individuals, NHS Trusts, and the former owner of a Premier League football club.

In a former life Sam trained as a chef. He also lived in Spain taking up a unique role which included both the law and Syrian politics. Now he spends his free time with his young family, finding that most often that his cooking skills are valued more than his knowledge of tax law.

After joining Harris & Trotter in 2014 and qualifying as a chartered accountant in 2017. I moved into the entertainment and business management department and became a Partner in this department in 2021. My portfolio of clients includes Singers, songwriters, producers, actors TV & Radio presenters, and influencers. I also have a portfolio of general practice clients including but not limited to, investment property, consultancy, and retail companies.

Stefan has had a career spanning over 25 years, from working with the internet to today's blockchain technology. He has a passion and has shown himself to be adept at helping create new industry and product sectors through disruptive technology.

Since 2017 Stefan has been working within the blockchain industry as CEO of FunFair Technologies, a first-generation Ethereum Dapp. Both a crypto investor and NFT collector, he advises and consults for mainstream brands and celebrities, spanning sports, fashion and gaming, helping them enter the world of Web 3. 

As an advisory RarerThings is very well connected in the space and can create teams to fit the clients needs as well as selecting vendors best suited to the strategic brief.

Pete is head of the firm’s Sports & Entertainment Group and advises a range of corporate and individual clients, primarily in the sports and entertainment sector.

His major clients include both international and national governing bodies of sport, clubs, major venues, rights holders, other sports businesses and individuals. Pete now advises over 70 Premier League footballers on all aspects of their tax affairs.

He also provides tax advice to companies and individuals across the wider entertainment sector, including film, television, music and e-sports.

In addition, Pete also has a strong client base in the entrepreneurial and owner-managed business space, focusing on providing commercially driven tax-efficient solutions in this sector.

Pete spent over 10 years at Deloitte, initially as a general corporate tax specialist in Manchester before moving to London in 2005 to lead the tax side of Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, moving to Saffery Champness in 2011. In 2012 Pete was listed in the Accountancy Age Top 35 under 35, and in 2015 was voted into Taxation Magazine’s Top 40 under 40.

Pete regularly speaks at industry conferences about the key taxation issues in sport, as well as appearing in all forms of media. He is well known as a trusted adviser to major stakeholders across the sports industry.

Kevin trained as a Chartered Accountant before specialising in taxation and becoming a Chartered Tax Adviser. He currently heads up the tax team at Hardwick & Morris LLP, a firm that specialises in the music industry and acts for some of the biggest artists in the world.

He is also a member of the International Tax Planning Association, the International Taxation of Entertainers Group and

He presents regularly at conferences both in the UK and internationally and is a member of the International Tax Planning Association, the International Tax Specialists Group and the International Taxation of Entertainers Group. He is also part of the editorial board of the Sports Law & Taxation journal.

Founder of Elites Sports Agency,  the company who has built an extensive network of client and business relations/ Started his career in the football industry and as a player at varying levels, levels from academy product through to semi-professional. Manny is also an FA licenced coach and has a solid background in contract negotiations as a FA licenced intermediary.

Daniel’s practice focuses on helping clients in the sports sector, including rights holders, leagues, governing bodies, clubs, agencies, athletes, sports technology companies, broadcasters and financial institutions.

Daniel has significant experience in the football industry and has worked on a variety of club takeovers, high profile transfers, commercial endorsement deals and disputes.

Daniel also works in the wider entertainment industry advising on competition and anti-trust matters.

Jim leads our London Employment Tax & Reward team, advising organisations on all aspects of employment tax. This includes HMRC reviews, salary sacrifice, expenses and benefit reviews, National Minimum Wage audits and Off payroll worker legislation (IR35).

Jim has worked in employment tax for over 30 years spending most of his career with the Big 4 and HMRC. He has appeared in many tax publications, including Taxation, Tax Adviser and Tax Journal, where he covered a wide range of topics, such as Termination payments and topical employment tax issues.

Jim can advise on incentive planning for organisations and has a particular interest in helping clients adopt a sustainability policy. He helps incorporate areas such as hybrid working, cycle to work and electric cars as well as incorporating employee wellbeing and smart tech and other benefits which support a sustainable approach.

Daan is a partner and founder at Atfield and heads the Sports & Tax department.

As a tax lawyer, he focuses on Belgian and cross-border tax issues for both Belgian resident and non-resident athletes. Daan assists some of the biggest sportsmen/women and their families with their ongoing international affairs and end-of-career planning.

He has particular expertise in coordinating an athlete’s relocation every step of the way and providing tax advice on the taxation of income received from clubs, sponsoring bodies and promotors.

Daan also frequently advises clubs on all matters relating to Belgian and international tax law.

Daan is mentioned as 'Recommended Lawyer in Sports' by Who's Who Legal.

Dominic is the head of Tax Dispute Resolution at Evelyn Partners. He has over 30 years’ experience of contentious tax matters and specialises in helping individuals and businesses navigate complex issues with HMRC. Before moving into practice in 2007, Dominic spent 18 years with HMRC in a variety of investigation and tax compliance roles.

Dominic’s team also helps clients make voluntary disclosures to HMRC under various programmes such as the Contractual Disclosure Facility (COP9) and the Worldwide Disclosure Facility (WDF).

Dominic has also acted as an expert witness in a number of civil proceedings, including those relating to professional negligence claims against tax advisers.

Tom is responsible for the management of portfolios for a variety of UK and international private clients and charities, including a number of the firm's larger client portfolios.

Tom has a BSc in Economics and Finance from the University of Bristol. He holds the Investment Management Certificate (IMC) and Private Client Advice and Management (PCIAM) from the Securities Institute.

Sophie's primary responsibility is to manage and develop relationships with potential clients, as well as a range of advisers who represent wealthy individuals and families with a requirement for discretionary investment management services. Prior to joining Sarasin & Partners in January 2012, Sophie spent 4 years with a Corporate Finance boutique in Mayfair.

Sophie holds the Investment Management Certificate (IMC) and the Private Client Investment Advice and Management (PCIAM) qualification.

I am a Tax Resolutions partner and have over 30 years' experience in tax.

I regularly write and lecture on tax topics. I have written chapters on tax investigations in technical books as well as numerous articles for the professional, national and local press. I also lecture at tax conferences in the UK and overseas on investigations, disclosures, HMRC's powers and taxpayer rights.

Louise advises on a wide range of media and information related claims. She specialises in defamation, privacy, data protection and content clearance.

Louise acts for well-known and high net worth individuals as well as corporates and brands, both in the media and entertainment world and in the corporate field.

Jesminara Rahman is a tax investigation specialist, director of Tax Resolute Ltd and accredited ADR mediator. She has been resolving tax disputes successfully for taxpayers & agents with over 23 years experience in tax investigations. She spent 15 years with HMRC as a caseworker, compliance manager and the ADR Design Lead, implementing Alternative Dispute Resolution as a national HMRC service. 

Dougie advises clients on all VAT matters. His diverse experience in both professional practice and in-house roles means that he adopts a practical and pragmatic approach to the challenges businesses face in applying complicated domestic and international VAT legislation.

Dougie enjoys the challenge of advising clients across his various specialist sectors. spanning financial services, and betting and gaming, to real estate and international supply issues.

Prior to joining haysmacintyre, Dougie was an Assistant Tax Director at bet365, leading the VAT and Duties teams there. Dougie joined bet365 from a top 30 firm where he was the Head of VAT.

In his spare time, Dougie plays golf and squash and supports Dundee FC in Scotland. He enjoys spending time with his young family and travelling.

Adam joined London & Capital in 2007, initially working alongside Daniel Freedman in the firm’s Miami office, serving both US and UK private clients. In 2010, he returned to London to help establish the firm’s US Family Office and has since helped the division’s growth in becoming the UK’s leading adviser to American clients living overseas.More recently, Adam is helping the division’s geographic expansion across key European locations. Adam has a degree in Business Management from the University of Birmingham and has been awarded the Diploma for Financial Advisers from the London Institute of Banking & Finance.