Historically the tax planning part of transactions has concentrated on minimising the shares of any sales consideration taken by the Government. This, of course, remains a key element of tax advice. However increasingly complex tax legislation means tax planning is now a fundamental part of any deal to avoid tax bills becoming due, even when cash is not actually being generated by the deal.

The mythical 10% tax rate has been in existence for some time and has survived one major change in tax legislation as the rate most vendors expect to pay. However, with the introduction of Entrepreneurs Relief in 2008, this 10% is limited to certain types of sales and to the first £5m per individual (not per disposal).

This is where we come in. At Francis Clark we can help you carefully structure your business ready for a sale and avoid many awkward pitfalls. In addition, we can often help when we act for the buyer to find better ways of structuring the purchase, to save the vendor tax and reduce the overall price to be paid.