Jennifer
Lockhart

WHO I HELP

SMEs. Large companies.

HOW I HELP

VAT Advice. Compliance. VAT Savings.

“HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE NUANCES OF VAT LAWS.”

Based in our Glasgow office, Jennifer Lockhart is an Indirect Tax Senior Manager. Jennifer’s main responsibility is to provide VAT advice in all regards for the client’s business or private needs. This could range from VAT compliance in the UK or advice on trading overseas and the VAT implications, to the recovery of VAT on the private construction of new build dwellings.

Jennifer’s wide range of experience allows her to provide relevant and up to date technical advice to her clients, helping them to avoid the common VAT pitfalls experienced by businesses

Building a co-operative relationship

“An ideal relationship with a client would be a co-operative one where there is trust and a two-way communication exists. I enjoy building strong working relationships with my clients. Without doubt, the most rewarding aspect of the work I do is being able to help people understand the nuances of VAT laws; how that impacts on the business and; (in some cases) the changes that can be made which will be beneficial to the business by saving them VAT.”

Also, clients expect the proper VAT advice provided in a timely manner, which is understandable and not full of jargon.”

The greatest challenge

“People often find VAT very complicated and difficult to navigate, as small changes in facts can change the rules that the supply falls under, and potentially alter the VAT liability of the transaction. For this reason, I find it really important to discuss VAT in terms that clients and colleagues will understand, so that they can hopefully appreciate the differences certain actions might have on ultimate VAT liability, to subsequently minimise this where possible.”

Collaboration is key

“I am a firm believer in the power of collaboration. Collaboration is especially important with VAT advice. Small changes in fact can have a significant impact on the VAT liability of a supply, possibly turning it from a taxable to an exempt supply (or equally changing it from a business to non-business supply), which can have a knock-on effect on the input VAT that the business may recover. The VAT team therefore regularly work closely with other departments within the business to ensure that. For example, a corporate structure being put in place doesn’t have negative VAT implications down the line. Or vice versa where a transaction is structured in such a way as to maximise VAT recovery, but which would result in an undesirable position for other taxes.”

My greatest strengths

“Having worked in VAT for over 15 years, 7 years of which were with HMRC and the remainder in practice, I have built up extensive experience across all sectors. I have provided a range of technical advice on issues such as land and property transactions, transfer of going concerns, cross border sales and place of supply of services. Summing up, I believe having this breadth of experience is a huge strength that I bring to the table.

Additionally, I try my best to make my VAT advice as jargon-free and straight forward to understand as I can. Clients have frequently expressed that they enjoy the fact that I make VAT simple, when previously they’ve never understood advice provided by their accountants.”