Professional Advice Bureau (PAB)

PAB

PAB specialises in mitigating tax and has a number of products to do so. The main product type which will be useful to mortgage intermediaries is their innovative range of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) plans, which can be used to achieve significant tax savings for your clients when purchasing a property above £250,000.

All UK tax payers who purchase a property in the UK are subject to Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) at the rate of:

PAB can offer purchasers of UK residential, commercial and land the opportunity to reduce their costs to:

Example
Fred Jones is purchasing a residential property        
for £750,000.

His SDLT requirement of 4% would be £30,000

With help from PAB, Mr Jones’ actual costs are reduced to
£15,000 + VAT (£18,000) saving Mr Jones £12,000

£750,000
SDLT = £30,000
or
PAB fees = £18,000
(Saving £12,000)

Sales Guidelines

Although these plans represent a considerable investment of time, effort and cost, PAB have deliberately created products that are simple to sell. They only introduce the planning through intermediaries, as you are best placed to communicate its benefits to potential clients.

The golden rule for PAB is ‘keep it simple’.

Commission – what’s in it for you.

For all cases that complete Paradigm will pay you these amounts once PAB has been paid by the client:

Using the example above, on a purchase of £750,000 you will receive £3,150.

Key Points

  • No up-front fee
  • No fee if the sale does not conclude.
  • All monies are held by the conveyancing solicitor as normal.
  • The tax planning should not delay the conveyancing process.
  • PAB tax planning is structured and approved by leading Tax Counsel in line with legislative changes.
  • PAB fees are insured for the duration of the 9 months and 30 days enquiry window.
  • Bespoke planning is available for single, co-habitees, married, multiple purchasers, and limited company and SIPP clients.
  • Valid with residential, commercial or land purchase; freehold or leasehold.

The Risks

The PAB tax plans are all legitimate in both principle and practice and full disclosure is made, where necessary, by PAB to HMRC.

Nonetheless, HMRC may still challenge a case. A letter of enquiry, generally containing technical queries, would then be sent by HMRC to the client and their acting solicitor. This letter should be immediately forwarded to PAB who will advise on the response. In the event of a successful challenge from HMRC, the full SDLT amount may become payable as well as a charge of interest. However PAB purchase an insurance policy upon completion of each case which will cover their fees during the enquiry window, so that in the unlikely event of a successful HMRC enquiry, leading to the SDLT becoming payable in full, their fees and your commission are insured.

However it is very important to note that in the eight years since SDLT was introduced, there has been only one challenge at a first tier tax tribunal and this matter was settled in favour of the taxpayer.

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