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Co-Chair
Anne Guichard

Co-Chair
Mark Osborne

Private Client Tax Committee

The Private Client Tax Committee of the IBA is for all practitioners who advise individuals in respect of international or cross-border situations.

View officer list Join this committee

About the Committee

The committee is concerned not only with what the law is but how it might develop in:

  • Inheritance rights and succession rules
  • Will making
  • Lifetime giving
  • Trusts
  • Creditor claims against trusts and estates
  • Regulatory compliance affecting trusts, including the tracing of proceeds of crime
  • Charities, foundations and not-for-profit organisations
  • Taxation of capital transfers and income; tax treaties
  • Property rights of spouses and co-habitees
  • Conflict of law rules

These matters are studied not only in the context of a sole jurisdiction but also with cross-border and multi-jurisdictional implications.

Members of the committee enjoy the following benefits:

  • Enhanced knowledge of one's own jurisdiction
  • Greatly enhanced expertise in solving problematic cross-border and multijurisdictional client issues
  • Unrivalled global networking possibilities and access to leading experts worldwide
  • A valuable tool for all trust and estate practitioners and an indispensable tool for international practitioners

The Private Client Tax committee includes practitioners from a broad range of civil and common-law jurisdictions. The panels and the annual specialist conference organised by the committee focus on international planning and comparative law issues relevant to any practitioner involved in private client work. The issues regularly debated include:

  • Individual tax in cross-border contexts, including the taxation of investment income, investment or other structures including trusts, and inheritance and estate tax;
  • The use of trusts as planning and protection tools, conflicts of laws;
  • International successions, wills, probate;
  • Asset protection/investment structures in common-law and civil law jurisdictions.

The committee regularly organises joint sessions with its sister committee (Taxes) within the Taxation Section of the IBA, and with other related committees in other sections of the IBA.

Publications
All articles

New York’s new power of attorney law is a welcome change

Practitioners will no longer need to apologise to their estate planning clients regarding the form of power of attorney required throughout the State of New York. The statutory form has been reworked – in the author’s view, this follows years of frustration for attorneys and their clients alike.

Released on Aug 02, 2021

Israeli Tax Authority actively approaches Switzerland to obtain information

In July 2021, the Israeli Tax Authority requested information from the Swiss Federal Tax Administration on affluent Israelis and their families in connection with bank accounts and assets held by them in Switzerland, individually and through foreign companies.

Released on Aug 02, 2021

Planning for the US person moving to Europe

This panel at the IBA 2020 - Virtually Together conference discussed various income tax and estate/gift tax planning issues that arise when a person from the United States relocates to Europe. A case study was presented, for which each of the panellists provided commentary regarding the tax treatment in their various jurisdictions: France; Italy; Spain; Switzerland; and the UK respectively.

Art: private passion or private client asset? Report on a session at the IBA’s 25th International Private Client Conference

The panel addressed the multiple crossover legal issues and passions involved in the acquiring, holding and disposing of art.

Projects

International Estate Planning Guide

The Taxes and Private Client Tax Committees have prepared a guide to international estate planning with chapters from more than twenty countries. The International Estate Planning Guide provides general information on the major considerations for the international private client.

The material is intended as a high-level practical guide for practitioners and professionals looking for an introduction to the laws of each relevant jurisdiction relating to cross-border trust, foundation, and estate planning.

Subcommittees and other groups

The Private Client Tax Committee also coordinates the activities of the following subcommittees/working groups.

  • Private Client Tax Committee Advisory Board