THE AGENDA Letters Dear Spear’s...


Readers have their say on ocean protection, yachts, female entrepreneurship and cryptocurrency tax


Sea changes SIR – It was heartening to read your article Philanthropy: Princess Eugenie on Ascension Island’s sustainable fi shing success story (Q4, 2021). The key number to


focus on is that only 2.7 per cent of the world’s oceans are highly protected. I understand that for oceans to recover from overfi shing we need to take this number up to closer to 30 per cent. All of us should, therefore, do so much


more and much more quickly to support the creation of ‘no-take’ areas. Given the expansiveness of the oceans, however, illegal fi shing in these areas is incredibly diffi cult to police. This is particularly so around parts of Africa’s coastline, where unauthorised commercial fi shing boats slip into coastal waters under cover of darkness. Overfi shing has a knock-on impact on poor seaside communities that have traditionally relied on fi shing for their livelihood. They turn to ‘bushmeat’ which, in turn, threatens our land-based wildlife populations. In developed countries eating fi sh has long been seen as a healthy option but rising demand for fi sh is the unhealthy option for the sustainability of our planet and I for one won’t be eating fi sh in the future. Mary Haly Director of private clients, Waverton


Fantastic voyage SIR – Reading Spear’s recent article on the luxury superyacht brand and Peter Lürssen’s contribution to it (Q4, 2021), one cannot help but feel inspired. As the article rightly drew attention to, Lürssen’s quiet agreement to fund the entirety of


the Blue Marine Foundation’s operating budget for fi ve years shows that the superyacht industry has so much more to offer than the bad headlines one all to often picks up in the tabloid press. Whether it is the charitable work of the likes of Lürssen, or of the owners of some of the largest boats in the world, or just the employment opportunities the marine (and private aviation) sector has to offer, there is a great deal of positivity


in this space than is known of, and more should be done to highlight this. With a new year ahead of us and the worst of the pandemic hopefully behind us, let all of us in the wealth arena resolve to keep up the great work being done, but also not be too reticent to highlight some truly noteworthy achievements. Elliot Bishop Head of luxury asset group, Shoosmiths Solicitors (London)


Values proposition SIR – The recent article on women’s attitudes towards paying tax (Q4, 2021) was insightful and thought-provoking. The tide is defi nitely turning in terms of female entrepreneurship. The trajectory of new businesses founded by women over the last two decades is higher than those started by men, but women entrepreneurs are generally considered more risk-averse in their strategic approach. This is typically seen not only in their growth strategy, but also


in their attitude towards paying tax. Women are increasingly the main breadwinner as well as main home-maker and caregiver. When they’re running their businesses they’re thinking about their future and their children’s future. This brings a new type of authenticity and women are often driven by strong social consciences in their business decisions; they feel that it’s right to give back and to be fair. Generally speaking, their values are different, so their contribution to society is different – and part of this is paying fair taxes. Helen Clarke Tax, trusts and estates partner, Irwin Mitchell


Crypto confusion SIR – it was very interesting to read your recent ‘Cryptic Crypto’ article (Q4, 2021). As the contributors highlighted, there remains great uncertainty as to the correct tax treatment, and indeed UK reporting requirements, connected to such crypto assets. Inevitably when confusion reigns, mistakes can occur. The position grows more urgent as HMRC have been using their information gathering powers to make formal requests of crypto exchanges located in the UK to disclose information on UK resident individuals. Throughout November and December, HMRC issued a raft of ‘nudge’ letters to those it believes have undeclared crypto asset tax


liabilities, encouraging them to regularise their tax affairs. It is important that such correspondence is not


ignored but dealt with in a timely fashion. Indeed in such circumstances, HMRC often asks taxpayers to sign confi rmations that the taxpayer believes that no UK tax liability arises. However, signing such a confi rmation without a full understanding of the UK tax code could in fact open them up to further sanctions including, potentially, criminal should there turn out to have been an error. Taxpayers beware. Matthew Biles, Private wealth partner, Ince


To submit a letter for publication in Spear’s, email Rasika.Sittamparam@spearswms.com. All correspondence will be considered for publication unless otherwise stated.


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