Tees Valley Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers Waltons Clark Whitehill has promoted George Hardey, Head of Tax at the firm, to its board of Directors.
George joined Waltons Clark Whitehill as a Tax Senior in 1999 from H M Revenue and Customs where he was a Revenue Officer. He rose to the position of Senior Tax Manager, before being made an Associate, and Head of Tax in 2014. He holds the Association of Taxation Technicians qualification and the prestigious Chartered Tax Adviser status.
In his time with the firm, George has worked with small, medium and large businesses, as well as company directors, sole-traders, expatriates and high-net-worth individuals and specialises in tax planning matters including inheritance tax, use of trusts, business acquisitions, sales and reorganisations, capital allowance claims for commercial properties, as well as providing support with HMRC investigations.
Heather O’Driscoll, Managing Director of Waltons Clark Whitehill said: “As an expanding business we have taken to opportunity to make George a Director to bring his drive and wealth of experience to the very top level. George has worked hard since his first day with us, and has proved himself extremely capable, so his promotion will allow us to do more to support our expanding client base.”
George Hardey said: “I’ve been with Waltons since 1999 and there’s nowhere I’d rather be. We are an established firm at the heart of the North East’s business community, and many of our clients have been with us for a significant number of years and it will be great to keep building on such long term relationships.
“Our tax team is expanding, allowing us to continue to give best advice and look after the tax affairs of our existing and new clients, in the face of the ever increasing volume and complexity of the tax rules. There’s never a quiet or dull time in tax, because despite all of the red tape, there are always going to be some tax planning opportunities on the horizon.
“As a Director I look forward to leading our growing tax team with the changes that lie ahead in our industry and further improving our reputation and position in the marketplace. In particular we will be adapting our services and assisting our clients to overcome the challenges that will be faced in order to meet and effectively manage HMRC’s objective for the introduction of digital tax accounts in the coming years.
“Those accounts will eventually change the timing and manner in which information is submitted to HMRC, as well as the dates by which payments will be due. More automated information and calculations will be produced by HMRC, therefore the ability to scrutinise them in detail and find the area where tax can be saved will be key.”