Margaret Connolly MA FCA CTA
Tax Partner
Special Interest
- Total tax minimisation.
- The provision of tax efficient solutions covering both compliance issues and advisory matters at both the corporate and the shareholder level.
- Transaction tax, including corporate sales, mergers, buy backs, partial exits and realising shareholder value in a tax efficient manner.
- Tax efficient remuneration strategies, including share option schemes and the associated employment related securities issues.
- International tax, including transfer pricing, thin capitalisation, controlled foreign companies, and tax efficient cross border financing structures.
Qualifications
- MA Mathematics, University of Glasgow.
- Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
- Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
Margaret is a member of the Corporate Tax Sub-Committee of the Chartered Institute of Tax Technical Committee.
Further Information
Margaret joined Reeves in February 2002 as a Tax Partner and now heads up the Reeves Tax Practice. Margaret joined Reeves from the Entrepreneurial Solutions Group at KPMG in London; prior to this she served as Head of UK Tax at Unilever PLC.
Since joining Reeves Margaret has advised on various assignments including the following: -
- Advising shareholders selling their businesses for sums ranging from £1.2M to £50M. Margaret’s approach is focussed on total tax minimisation. This incudes minimising tax exposure at the vendor level, but also encompasses maximising the tax deductibility of all deal related costs, and ensuring that appropriate tax deductions are taken in respect of the pre-sale exercise of employee share options.
- Advising incoming management teams undertaking buy-outs or buy-ins. Particular attention focusses on ensuring that the equity taken by management (whether in a dedicated buy-out vehicle or otherwise) is done so on terms compliant with the employment related securities legislation.
- Assisting the participants in Private Equity backed transactions to ensure that all share based arrangements, including ratchet mechanisms, fall within the ambit of the 2003 joint HMRC/BVCA Memorandum of Understanding.
- Extolling the many and growing virtues of the UK as a location for international groups. This includes the provision of a seamless corporate tax compliance service, and advice on such matters as transfer pricing, thin capitalisation, cross border withholding taxes and the new Worldwide Debt Cap rules.
- Project management of corporate reconstructions, both Statutory Demergers and reorganisations under s110 Insolvency Act 1986. This would include the preparation and submission of all necessary tax clearances.
- Advising on the applicability of the UK participation exemption, the Substantial Shareholding Exemption (SSE), both on a stand alone basis and in conjunction with other statutory reliefs. Putative tax charges running into millions of pounds have been eliminated in this manner.
Personal Interests
Margaret a keen equestrian, particularly dressage, and looks after four horses. She also enjoys running, yoga, dog walking, the theatre, cinema and spending time with husband Peter.
To read an article on Margaret’s ‘Life in Tax’ that appeared in Tax Adviser Magazine please click here
