SJP sued by ex-football stars over tax avoidance schemes – Miles Dean

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Miles Dean, Head of International Tax at Andersen, comments in CityWire Wealth Manager in relation to a group of ex-footballers suing St James’s Palace over tax avoidance schemes.

Mile’s comments were published in CityWire Wealth Manager, 14 November 2019, and can be found here.

“A group of ex-footballers are suing St James’s Place (SJP) over allegations they received poor advice in relation to tax avoidance film and overseas property schemes.

Miles Dean, head of international tax at Anderson Tax UK, said the claim against SJP is another example of how the psychology of tax schemes and those who entered them is overlooked.

‘In the case of footballers, it is true that many will have “followed the leader”, so to speak. That is, dressing room talk is such that if player X is doing something that they think will save them in tax others will follow suit’, Dean said.

‘Their agents and advisors are very happy to massage the egos of their clients because they undoubtedly benefited from commission income off the back of the investments.’

Dean underlined why it is not straightforward to determine if wealth firms are culpable for the investment behaviour of footballers.

‘At the end of the day, to coin a much-loved football expression, the investors made the investment and they are responsible for their own actions. The reality is, the footballers didn’t understand the mechanics of the investments they were making and were unable to assess the associated risks.'”

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