BLP named Private Client Team of the Year for work undertaken for one of its leading charity clients, Arts Council England

The Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) Trusts and Personal Tax Team has been awarded Private Client Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2007 in recognition of work done for one of its leading charity clients, Arts Council England (ACE) and a coalition of 33 of the leading orchestras, ballet and theatre companies in the United Kingdom. 

Until recently, it had been understood that fees paid to self-employed musicians by orchestras, ballet companies, theatre companies and other organisations did not incur a liability to Class 1 National Insurance Contributions. In October 2005, H M Revenue & Customs (HMRC) confirmed that they considered that such contributions were in fact payable. The backdated liability payable by the organisations as a result would have been in the region of £33m, with a further ongoing annual liability of £6m. It was estimated that if the liability was imposed, some 80-90% of the coalition organisations would be bankrupted, destroying a very significant part of the UK arts and culture scene. 

Arts Council England is a client of BLP’s Charity Law Group. Partner Anthony Bunker, who has very significant experience in negotiations with HMRC, and Senior Associate Damian Bloom handled the case and took advice from BLP employment and litigation advisers when required.

Moira Protani, Partner and Head of Charity Law Group, says; "This is a great  example of the huge talent at Berwin Leighton Paisner which has brought a series of referrals of complex and valuable work to our Charity Law Group and Personal Tax teams in recent months. These people really are leaders in their fields!"

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