Trust cloning involves setting up a trust (the ‘cloned trust’) with the same terms and beneficiaries of another trust (the ‘original trust’). Assets may then be transferred from the original trust to the cloned trust. The advantages of trust cloning are: Asset protection – allows a trust carrying on a business to separate the business…
In 1797 Great Britain introduced a farm horse tax on horses and mules that were used in husbandry or trade. The tax was levied at the rate of 2s per horse or mule. The tax collectors visited the farms to audit the farmers and ensure they were paying the…
The Duties on Clocks and Watches Act 1797 was an Act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain instituting a tax on clocks and watches. The tax was introduced by the Prime Minister William Pitt and was assessed at the annual rate of two shillings and sixpence for a basic watch, five shillings for a…
During the 17th and 18th centuries the wearing of wigs by men was very fashionable. Women didn’t wear wigs but instead added hair extensions to their natural hair. Whilst women mainly powdered their hair grey or blueish grey, men went for the bright white look. The wig powder was made from finely ground starch…
As Britain’s 1784 tax on hats was such a lucrative revenue raiser for the government, they decided to complement it with a glove tax. The 1785 glove tax was levied at the rate of one penny on gloves to the value of ten pence, two pence to gloves costing between ten pence and fifteen pence,…
The benefits of using a private company to accumulate investments include: Company tax rate of 27.5% (which will eventually reduce to 25% by 2025). Ability to retain profits after tax (important in the lead-up to retirement when individual taxable incomes can be high). Fully franked dividends can be accumulated tax free due to the dividend…
The brick tax was a tax on bricks and tiles introduced in Great Britain during King George III’s reign to help pay for the wars in the American Colonies. The tax was originally levied at the rate of 2s. 6d. per 1000 bricks, 3s per 1000 plain tiles, and 8s per 1000…
In 1784 Pitt the Younger introduced a tax on men’s hats to raise government revenue. The government believed the tax would be equitable as the rich would have a large number of expensive hats, whereas the poor might have one cheap hat or none at all. Ladies hats were exempt from the tax. The hat…
The East India Company (EIC) was a British joint-stock company formed in 1600 to pursue trade with the East Indies (Southeast Asia). The company ended up mainly trading with China and seizing control of the Indian subcontinent. The company traded in basic commodities such as cotton, silk,…
On 24th May 1607 the British Virginia Company landed their three ships near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay area on the banks of the James River. There they founded the first permanent English colony in the New World. Now known as Jamestown, Virginia, this was the start of the British colonisation of the…
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"You’d be stupid not to try to cut your tax bill and those that don’t are stupid in business"
- Bono: U2