Abacus, locally based fiduciary and fund services group with an office in Malta, has appointed Samantha Snow to VAT Specialist in its Malta office as part of its ongoing plans to strengthen the group’s yacht proposition and its expansion in Malta.

Ms. Snow has over 15 years’ experience specialising in VAT and Indirect Tax matters, having worked with domestic and international clients across a diverse range of sectors including the Yachting, Remote Gaming, Financial Services and Property and Construction industries.

Her role will be to lead the Abacus group’s VAT proposition across the Isle of Man and Malta, working closely with the Abacus Yachts team. She will also lead the Malta team in terms of the development of client relationships and enhancement of their technical skills.

Commenting on her appointment, she said: “I am very excited to be joining a dynamic and proactive business such as Abacus. With an experienced team of people based in both our Isle of Man and Malta offices and our ability to offer a comprehensive range of corporate services, I’m really looking forward to building on our existing client portfolio and making Abacus the number one for outstanding customer service.”

Samantha has a wealth of experience working for major organisations in both Malta and the UK. She initially began her career as a VAT Assurance Officer with HM Revenue & Customs in the UK, carrying out VAT inspections, before moving on to work with two of the Big 4 accountancy firms.

Over the years Sam has assisted clients in a number of very complex cases. For one client she provided VAT advice in respect of the acquisition of a newly built pleasure yacht, which enabled the owner to benefit from a significant VAT saving using the Malta yacht leasing scheme. In this particular case with Sam’s continued support and guidance throughout the course of the leasing scheme, the overall VAT saving was over €1m in VAT.

Other work includes advising a global remote gaming operator on Indirect Tax issues for an EU wide project following the 2015 VAT Place of Supply changes. This included setting up compliance procedures for the newly introduced MOSS scheme (Mini One Stop Shop).

Commenting on Samantha’s arrival, CEO of Abacus Malta, Paul Watterson, said: “We are delighted to welcome Samantha to the Abacus team. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience in VAT and will play a key role in strengthening our yacht services offering as well as our services to private clients in an important and complex field.”

“We have recently undertaken a brand refresh as part of our plans to develop and strengthen the Abacus brand and its service propositions, Sam is another instrumental part to our ongoing growth strategy.”

Sam will join Isle of Man-based Senior Manager, Paul Swindale, at the annual Global Superyacht Forum later this month. Now in its 21st year, the three day event will return to Amsterdam ARI from 16 – 18 November and will bring together over 500 industry leaders to analyse and explore the current status of the Superyacht arena.

The event offers delegates an excellent networking platform to meet and talk with other likeminded professionals and as representatives of Abacus Yachts, Sam and Paul will be able to get involved in focussed discussions and debates on the key areas anticipated to affect the industry and improve its future, and talk about Abacus and its yacht proposition.

Paul Swindale, said “Having previously attended this event, I am looking forward to attending it again this year. It’s a great place to meet both new and existing contacts but more importantly to look at the key messages from the industry and discuss the potential challenges that lie ahead for the yachting community..”

“The timing of Sam’s appointment is excellent for us as we are seeing a significant increase in the number of enquires relating to luxury assets, especially yacht work in Malta. I have had the fortune of being involved in this market for over 4 years and to have someone with Sam’s skills and background is a key differentiator - it allows us to understand the client’s needs and work closely with our intermediaries in handling what can potentially be complex cross border VAT issues. Sam’s strengths in the indirect tax world, linked to the strength of our client service model for high net worth clients, is a key stake in the ground for us in growing this type of client.”

Photo - Samantha Snow, Client Services Manager and VAT Specialist at Abacus Malta.