A forthcoming presentation hosted by the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) Isle of Man will look at 'International Tax Investigations in the Isle of Man - a Legal Perspective'.
The guest speakers will be Tom Maher and Giles Hill (pictured) of Dougherty Quinn Advocates.
The presentation will include: an overview of the most commonly used tax investigation powers in the Isle of Man; international initiatives in tax and criminal investigations; a look at TIEAs (Tax Exchange Information Agreements); and insights into the Criminal Justice Acts 1990 and 1991.
About the Guest Speakers
Tom Maher is Head of Corporate & Commercial at Dougherty Quinn Advocates. Prior to this, he was a senior associate in Cains, where he worked in both the commercial litigation and corporate departments for 12 years.
At Dougherty Quinn, his principal areas of practice are mergers and acquisitions, shareholder and corporate disputes, trusts, yachting and aviation.
Tom is a regular speaker on legal topics, having recently presented to the ACCA on 'Directors and Trustee Duties in the Credit Crisis' and at the 2009 Lexis Nexis Conference on 'The Changing Face of Offshore Sheltering' with fellow director, Paul Dougherty.
He is one of the very few advocates to have dealt with a live TIEA Request and investigation, having advised a trust company client on an IRS related TIEA request in 2009 and again in 2010. Tom provides delegates with real practical advice based on his experience.
Giles Hill is the Director of Litigation/Dispute Resolution at Dougherty Quinn Advocates. He joined in November 2009, having previously been a departmental director in Cains, where he worked in their commercial litigation department for over 7 years.
In DQ, his principal areas of practice are commercial litigation and alternative dispute resolution, in particular mediation. Giles is a qualified ADR Group Mediator. He advises and represents diverse companies on a variety of domestic and cross-border disputes.
Giles acted for an Isle of Man company that was being investigated in the US for alleged tax evasion amounting to $1,000m.
Upon the investigating US authorities requesting assistance from the Attorney General in the Isle of Man, the Attorney General issued a Witness Summons pursuant to Section 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 for the production of documents. Some 1.3 million documents were produced over time in accordance with the Section 21 Summons. The US investigating authorities eventually agreed to settle the claim.
Giles has also acted for several Isle of Man CSPs who provided corporate and trust services to US settlors who are still being investigated by the US authorities for insider dealing, market manipulation and tax evasion.
To assist the US authorities in their investigations, the Attorney General issued a Notice pursuant to Section 24 of the Criminal Justice Act 1990 which led to the review and production of around two 2 million documents.
The investigating US authorities also came to the Isle of Man to interview various individuals who worked at the CSPs. The US authorities have not yet determined if formal criminal charges are to be brought against the US settlors.
The presentation will take place on Thursday 15th April (gather at 6pm for 6.15pm start) at the Shearwater Suite, Hilton Hotel.
Admission is free. For booking/Further info, please email icsa(at)manx.net
