Andrew Evans
Andrew has spent his career advising owner managers and SME businesses/companies on their tax affairs. In common with many tax advisers in regional law firms, Andrew’s practice covers a wide range of tax areas, from Corporate M&A support, company restructuring and reorganisations including demergers, share schemes and property taxes including vat, SDLT and LTT. Andrew has also developed a specialism advising business owners and companies on selling their company to an Employee Ownership Trust.
Andrew was a member of the Welsh Government’s Tax Advisory Group which assisted Welsh Government develop the LTT regime.
Practice Areas
Panels
- Contributing Author
- Welsh Panel
Qualified Year
- 1990
Experience
- Geldards LLP (2003 - Present)
- Burges Salmon LLP (1991 - 2003)
Membership
- Chartered Institute of Taxation
- Stamp Taxes Practitioners Group
Qualifications
- LLP (1990)
- Chartered Tax Advisor (1996)
Education
- Reading University (1990)
5 Contributions by Andrew Evans
PRACTICE NOTES
UK Business Asset Disposal Relief for Employee Share Schemes and MBOs: EMI, CSOP, SAYE, SIP, Unapproved Options, Dilution, Eligibility, Timing and Claims
Background and main requirements for the relief
Business asset disposal relief (BADR) can apply in relation to shares held in trading companies, as well as in the holding companies of trading groups, provided the requirements set out in sections 169H–169SH of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 (TCGA 1992) are met. For disposals occurring on or after 6 April 2026, BADR produces a capital gains tax (CGT) rate of 18% on lifetime chargeable gains, up to a statutory cap that applies to those gains. That limit was reduced from £10m to £1m for qualifying disposals taking place on or after 11 March 2020, by legislation introduced in the Finance Act 2020. Before 6 April 2025, the CGT rate applying where BADR was available was 10%; the Finance Act 2025 increased this to 14% with effect from 6 April 2025, and it also legislated for a further rise to 18% for disposals taking place on or after 6 April 2026...
Share Incentives
PRACTICE NOTES
Wales Land Transaction Tax: calculation, chargeable consideration, rates and bands for freehold, leasehold and other transactions, including higher residential rates, deferral, linked transactions and key SDLT differences
Land transaction tax (LTT) superseded stamp duty land tax (SDLT) in Wales with effect from 1 April 2018. This Practice Note considers how LTT is worked out, the meaning of chargeable consideration for LTT purposes and the applicable rates. Where relevant, comparisons with SDLT are noted. The Practice Note builds on the basics in Practice Note: Wales: Land transaction tax (LTT)—the basics. LTT is contained in the Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017 (LTTADT(W)A 2017). Statutory references are to LTTADT(W)A 2017 unless stated otherwise.
How is LTT calculated?
LTT is charged on the acquisition and disposal of an interest in freehold or leasehold land. It applies not only to the purchase of freehold land or the grant of a lease (the creation of an interest) but also to the release of an interest, such as releasing a restrictive covenant, and to the variation of an interest, such as varying a lease.
Freehold acquisition
In a freehold acquisition, LTT is levied as a percentage of the consideration paid or treated as paid for the transaction...
Tax
PRACTICE NOTES
Wales LTT: Residential land, leases, MDR, mixed-use garden/grounds, cross-border apportionment, partnerships, PAIFs/CoACS, anti-avoidance (TAAR/GAAR), and Brexit—key rules and SDLT differences
From 1 April 2018, land transaction tax (LTT) took the place of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) in Wales. This Practice Note outlines how LTT applies to specific scenarios where its treatment diverges from SDLT, including the following:
Residential leases
Mixed use claims—garden and grounds
Leases held over beyond their contractual end date
Multiple dwellings relief (MDR)
Cross border transactions, including cross title properties
Anti-avoidance, covering the LTT targeted anti-avoidance rule (TAAR) and the general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR)
Property authorised investment funds (PAIFs) and co-ownership authorised contractual schemes (CoACS)
Partnerships
Brexit
Where appropriate, it contrasts LTT with SDLT. It also builds on the fundamentals in the Practice Note: Wales: Land transaction tax (LTT)—the basics. LTT is legislated for in the Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017 (LTTADT(W)A 2017), and statutory citations are to that Act unless indicated otherwise.
Residential land
There is a nuanced but significant variation in the definition of residential land under LTT when compared with SDLT: the connectors used in the SDLT definition—namely ‘and’ and ‘or’—do not appear in the corresponding wording, leading to a different interpretative outcome...
Tax
PRACTICE NOTES
Wales: Land Transaction Tax (LTT) administration and compliance: returns, payment, linked transactions, amendments, WRA enquiries and assessments, penalties, interest, and tax opinions
From 1 April 2018, land transaction tax (LTT) replaced stamp duty land tax (SDLT) in Wales. This Practice Note outlines the principal administrative and compliance aspects of LTT, covering:
filing returns and payment
management and collection of LTT by the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA)
amendment and correction of returns
enquiries
assessments
penalties
Where appropriate, distinctions between LTT and SDLT are noted. This Practice Note expands on the essentials in Practice Note: Wales: Land transaction tax (LTT)—the basics. The legislative framework for LTT is the Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017 (LTTADT(W)A 2017). Unless stated otherwise, statutory references are to the LTTADT(W)A 2017.
Administration
LTT is overseen by the WRA. The WRA is a non-ministerial department of Welsh Government with its own board and staff, and its headquarters are in Merthyr Tydfil.
LTT returns
When a notifiable land transaction occurs, a LTT return must be sent to the WRA within 30 days of the effective date, together with a self-assessment of the LTT payable. By comparison, SDLT returns must be submitted within 14 days (with...
Tax
PRACTICE NOTES
Wales: Land Transaction Tax (LTT)—practitioner overview of scope, rates, chargeable consideration, leases, reliefs, transitional provisions, administration and anti-avoidance
FORTHCOMING CHANGE:
The Welsh government continues to review the ongoing availability of multiple dwellings relief, with a formal announcement anticipated in Spring 2025. This Practice Note outlines land transaction tax (LTT), which replaced stamp duty land tax (SDLT) in Wales with effect from 1 April 2018. Three related companion Practice Notes examine particular aspects of the tax in greater detail, as set out below:
Wales: Land transaction tax (LTT)—chargeable consideration and rates of LTT
Wales: Land transaction tax (LTT)—particular transactions and tax payers, and
Land transaction tax (LTT)—administration and compliance
Background
The Wales Act 2014 provides for SDLT to be disapplied in Wales with effect from 1 April 2018 and enables the Welsh Government to introduce its own tax on transactions in land in Wales. The legislative framework for LTT is set out in the Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017 (LTTADT(W)A 2017), which received Royal Assent on 24 May 2017. Rules for tax administration in Wales, including the establishment of the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA), are contained in the Tax Collection and Management (Wales) Act 2016 (TCM(W)A 2016), which received Royal Assent on 20 April 2016. Statutory references are to the LTTADT(W)A 2017 unless...
Tax
If you expected to see yourself on this page, click here.
