James joined the Sports & Entertainment Group at Saffery in 2018 following a decade working at RSM in their Private Client Tax Team where he qualified as a Chartered Tax Advisor.
His current clients include internationally renowned individual sports people such as Grand Slam tennis champions, F1 Drivers, Le Mans winners and Grand Tour stage winners as well as actors, models, musicians and influencers. He also looks after the individuals’ respective personal service companies and often deals day-to-day with their agents and other professional advisors.
James also acts for a number of entrepreneurs and owner-managed businesses. He regularly helps start-ups navigate their way through their tax and accounting obligations in the early years of trade and provides tax-efficient solutions whilst also minimising the risk of HMRC enquiries.
Key experience
- James has extensive knowledge of the UK’s statutory residence rules along with the double tax agreements in place with various other jurisdictions around the world. He has helped clients emigrate into and out of the UK and deals with a number of international mobile taxpayers including athletes, entrepreneurs and HNWIs,
- Advising former users of the remittance basis of taxation, including in respect of remittances of historic income and capital gains,
- James has been involved within the structuring of various businesses including sports agencies, influencer marketing businesses and property investment companies, both domestic and internationally,
- He has contributed to numerous articles about the tax implications for non-resident sportspeople performing in the UK along with various other internal and external publications.
Interests
James follows a mix of sports including Motorsport, Tennis, Rugby and Cycling, but can usually be found either training for a triathlon or walking his dog in his spare time. He enjoys eating out at different restaurants, exploring new countries, catching the latest film and experiencing live music as much as possible.
