Spokespeople
The CIOT's spokespeople can be contacted for media comment via the CIOT's External Relations Team
Officers and Senior staff
President
Charlotte Barbour
Charlotte has been a CIOT Council member since 2019 and is the current President. She worked for many years at ICAS, Edinburgh, in a range of policy and regulatory roles, and was secretary to the Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation Working Group (comprising seven professional bodies). Her work with CIOT includes being a member of the Officers Group of Council, the joint CIOT-ATT Officers and Senior Staff Forum, the Scottish Technical Committee, and past chair of the CIOT Nominations Committee. Charlotte is the author of ‘The Management of Taxes in Scotland’ published by Bloomsbury Professional.
Deputy President
Nichola Ross Martin
Nichola Ross Martin CTA (Fellow), FCA. Founder of the Rossmartin.co.uk online tax resources and the Virtual Tax Partner support service. She enjoys supporting professional firms accountants & advisers and is a specialist in OMB business taxes, reorganisations & reconstructions, share schemes, appeals and investigations. A CIOT Council member since 2017, a member of CIOT’s Membership and Branches Committee and Joint Equality Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Currently a Tax Consultant to 2020 Innovation, a tax lecturer, writer and web designer.
Immediate Past President
Gary Ashford
CTA (Fellow), ATT. Partner (non-lawyer), Harbottle and Lewis LLP. Council Member since 2011. Member of Management of Taxes, Professional Standards, European Branch and the Birmingham & West Midlands Branch Committees. Vice President of CFE Executive Board, CIOT representative at CFE Professional Affairs Committee. Formerly an HMRC Tax Inspector. Areas of expertise: • Dispute resolution and serious tax investigations • International personal taxes • International corporate taxes
VICE PRESIDENT
Paul Aplin
BSc (Hons), CTA (Fellow) FCA. Formerly Tax Partner AC Mole & Sons. Council Member since 2017. Past President of ICAEW (2018-19). Former Chair of the ICAEW Tax Faculty and Tax Faculty Technical Committee. Member of Administrative Burdens Advisory Board of HMRC. Member of the Audit and Risk Committee and the Education Technology Working Group.
Director of Public Policy
Ellen Milner
[email protected]Ellen joined the CIOT as Director of Public Policy in April 2023. With a background in corporate tax, she previously worked at HMRC, with extensive experience in areas including tax policy, compliance and training, most recently as Deputy Director for Large Business London. She has also worked as Principal Private Secretary to the First Permanent Secretary.
Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG)
Head of LITRG
Victoria Todd
Victoria worked in various welfare rights roles before joining LITRG in 2004 as Welfare Rights Technical Officer. Victoria qualified as a tax technician (ATT) in 2011 and a CTA (Fellow) in 2017. In 2018, Victoria was appointed Head of LITRG. As well as overseeing the group’s work, Victoria retains technical responsibility for tax credits and universal credit. Victoria sits on several HMRC forums and is a member of the Tax Law Review Committee.
LITRG Senior Manager
Kelly Sizer
‘Kelly Sizer first joined LITRG in 2007 and returned to the staff in 2019 after a year working as a tax writer at LexisNexis. She is a CTA (Fellow), which was awarded in 2018 for her thesis on the complexities of tax-incentivised savings for the low-income population. She is a former Tax and Trusts Manager at Grant Thornton UK.
-Pensions
-personal tax
-tax administration’
CIOT Technical Policy & Oversight Committee (TPOC) spokespeople
Chair
John Barnett
MA (Oxon) CTA (Fellow), TEP, Solicitor. Partner at Burges Salmon. Council member since 2014. Chair of the Technical Policy and Oversight Committee, Member, the Private Client (International) Committee and the Private Client (UK) Committee. Former member of the GAAR Interim Panel. Contributor to Wealth Tax Commission. Member of CenTax Advisory Board. Formerly member of Bristol Branch Committee. Formerly chair of Presiding Judges, STEP Private Client Awards.
Areas of expertise:
• International Taxes
• Capital Taxes
• Residence and domicile
• Entrepreneurs and business owners
• DOTAS, GAAR and related tax-governance issues
Head of Tax Technical
Richard Wild
A qualified Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser, with over 25 years’ experience in taxation, mainly in Indirect Taxes, including roles in a Big 4 litigation team, and as an Anti-Avoidance Adviser with HMRC. Richard has been the Head of the Tax Technical Team since 2015.
Areas of expertise:
• Indirect tax
• Making Tax Digital
Director of Public Policy
Ellen Milner
[email protected]Ellen joined the CIOT as Director of Public Policy in April 2023. With a background in corporate tax, she previously worked at HMRC, with extensive experience in areas including tax policy, compliance and training, most recently as Deputy Director for Large Business London. She has also worked as Principal Private Secretary to the First Permanent Secretary.
Business Rates Working Group
Kersten Muller
Kersten is Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal and is a real estate expert with more than 20 years of experience in the sector, including as a lead partner in Grant Thornton LLP’s Real Estate Team, and Tax Director at Deloitte Real Estate.
Areas of expertise:
• International structuring
• Buy & sell side due diligence
• Refinancing of property portfolios.
• Ongoing reporting and compliance
Climate Change Working Group
Chair
Jason Collins
Areas of expertise:
• All aspects of environmental taxes
• Dispute resolution and tax litigation
Corporate
Adrian Rudd
Areas of expertise:
• Corporate taxes
• Capital gains tax
• Capital allowances
Digitalisation and Agent Services
Chair
Alison Kerrey
Alison is a director in Saffery Champness’ National Tax team. She specialises in tax knowledge and policy, including engagement on behalf of CIOT and ATT with government on proposed changes to the tax system and internal policy and tax risk management issues. Currently, her particular focus is on the increasing digitisation of the tax system, including the Making Tax Digital programme.
Disputes Resolution Working Group
Chair
Hui Ling McCarthy KC
Hui Ling is King's Counsel at 11 New Square Chambers, Lincoln’s Inn, London. Her practice covers all areas of tax law, with an emphasis on corporate and international tax matters, VAT and SDLT. She is a CEDR-accredited mediator.
Areas of expertise:
• Corporate Tax
• VAT
• Dispute resolution
Employment taxes
Chair
Colin Ben Nathan
Areas of expertise:
• Employment Taxes
• International employment Taxes
• Residence and domicile
CIOT Technical Officer
Matthew Brown
Matthew Brown is a Technical Officer for the CIOT’s Employment Taxes Committee and Owner Managed Business Committee. Matthew previously worked for Capita Assistance and started his tax career at Barclays Personal Tax Service.
Areas of expertise:
• Employment Taxes
• PAYE and National Insurance Contributions
• Taxation of benefits-in-kind
• Expenses and Termination payments
• Taxation of pensions and pension contributions
• Taxation of sole traders and small partnerships
EU and Human Rights Working Group
Jeremy Woolf
Areas of expertise:
• Negligence
• Judicial review
• European Community law
• Human rights law
International Tax
Chair
David Murray
Areas of expertise:
• International Tax Policy
• Digitalisation
• Digital Taxes
• BEPs
• Documentation/ compliance requirements
• Bilateral/ multilateral agreements for information exchange
• Double taxation and Tax treaties
Management of Taxes
Helen Adams
CTA FCA TEP. Helen is a Principal in BDO LLP’s Tax Dispute Resolution team & is the firm’s Tax Policy Lead. She helps resolve complex UK tax enquiries and investigations and advises individuals and companies on making disclosures of UK tax irregularities. Helen also monitors tax policy developments and their potential impacts on taxpayers and advisers.
Areas of expertise:
• Tax investigations & enquiries
• Voluntary (unprompted) disclosures to HMRC
• HMRC powers & penalties.
Owner managed business
Chair
Pete Miller
Areas of expertise:
• Transaction in securities rules
• Reorganisations and Reconstructions
• Patent Box & intangible assets
• HMRC clearances
• Disguised remuneration
Private Client UK
Danny Clifford
Danny is a chartered accountant and CTA. He heads up Ensors’ tax team. He is a member of HMRC’s Agents’ Trusts and Estates Advisory Group and was a member of the Country Landowners Association (CLA) Taxation sub-committee. Specialisms:
• Expertise in Trusts and Estates
• Expertise in Capital Taxes
• Expertise in non-domiciles / UK residence and non-residence tax issues
Private Client International
Emma Chamberlain OBE
Areas of expertise:
• Private client advisory
• Trust advice
• Foreign domiciliaries
• Inheritance tax
• Residential property
Property taxation
Leigh Sayliss
Leigh is a partner and head of tax at Memery Crystal and is a Fellow of the CIOT. Leigh has wide experience in property, corporate and employment taxes. He chairs the CIOT’s Property Taxes Committee and is a member of HMRC working groups on stamp duty land tax and construction matter. He also edits the property sections of Monroe and Nock on the Law of Stamp Duties.
VAT and Indirect taxes
Chair
Gabby Donald
Gabby is an indirect taxes specialist with more than 18 years of experience. An Indirect Tax Director at KPMG, Gabby specialises in VAT within the financial services sector often dealing with clients with cross border operating models, complex partial exemption and VAT liability issues. Current chair of the Indirect Taxes Committee and Committee member since 2015
Excise duties
Alan Powell
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Scottish Taxes
Sean Cockburn
CTA ATT TEP
Sean is a director in Mazars’ Private Client tax advisory team, working with families, entrepreneurs, trustees and others to provide advice on a range of UK and international tax issues. He is a former chair of the CIOT’s Scotland Hub committee and was appointed chair of the Scottish Technical Committee in June 2022.
Chris Thorpe
Christopher Thorpe
Chris is a Fellow of the CIOT and full member of STEP, having originally qualified as a barrister (non-practising). He joined the technical team at CIOT in January 2022 and his responsibilities as technical officer include the Digital & Agent Services, Scottish Taxes and Private Client (International) committees.
Areas of expertise:
Income tax
Capital taxes (capital gains and inheritance taxes)
Trusts
Agriculture
Compliance
Welsh Taxes
Lakshmi Narain
Areas of expertise:
• Property related Tax Issues for individuals, partnerships and companies
• Land Transaction Tax
• Stamp Duty Land Tax
Richie Tout
Areas of expertise:
• Employee share incentives and tax valuations
• Private company tax advisory work
• M&A tax advice
External Relations team
Head of External Relations
George Crozier
George is Head of External Relations for the Chartered Institute of Taxation, for the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT, the CIOT's sister body) and for the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG, an initiative of the CIOT). He manages the Institute's relations with the media as well as with politicians, opinion formers and other relevant bodies. He has worked for the Institute since 2009, having previously worked as a speechwriter and senior communications adviser for a major political party. He tweets on tax matters at @GeorgeTweetsTax.
External Relations Officer
Jamie Presland
Jamie is a communications professional with more than 10 years' experience in external relations and journalism. He joined the CIOT in 2023 following three years in the press office of a utility company. He has also worked as a journalist covering a wide range of issues for several publications in North and South-East England.
Scotland External Relations & Branch Support Manager
Chris Young
Chris joined the Institute in 2016 to manage its Scottish media and political engagement. Prior to this, he worked for one of Scotland’s largest independent public relations and public affairs consultancies. His experience also includes a spell working in Washington, D.C. and as a policy adviser supporting the administration of a major Scottish local authority.
External Relations Officer
Ghazaleh Pourzadi
Ghazaleh joined the CIOT in 2023, having previously worked at the Local Government Association, Conservative Councillors’ Association, for an MP and at a number of international charities. She has many years of experience working for both local and national governments and holds a Master's degree in International Relations with Law.