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Close companies is a topic that was examined in the March 2022 Advanced Tax exam.The concept here is we are looking at family companies controlled by 5 or less individuals. These individuals were able take loans from the company and avoid paying them back as they...

An important area in the higher-level tax exams is the tax-advantaged share schemes.Many start-ups need to attract skilled individuals to work long hours but cannot afford high salaries or overtime payments.Instead, they offer options to buy shares in the company at a...

Hagia Sofia is in Istanbul and means ‘Holy Wisdom’ and is one of the best Byzantine structures in the world.It was originally a Temple to the Greek Gods before a church was constructed in 325 by the Roman Emperor Constantine The Great. The huge dome was built 200...

This is an image of myself with two of my Kaplan colleagues -Iryna Mcdonald who specialises in Case Studies and Luckie Theva who teaches Financial Reporting. Iryna is Ukrainian. It was a happier time and Iryna was telling us about her amazing holiday in Ukraine....

In many Indian arranged marriages, the bride and groom meet for the first time on their wedding day. In one case, the bride got suspicious about the groom’s education and decided to give him a surprise maths test starting with the 2 times table which he struggled...

This month’s fantastic PQ magazine has been published and features my article on income tax trading losses that regularly comes up in the tax exams. This is an area most students struggle with despite it being fairly logical. The trading loss can be offset against the...

The World Health Organisation have now predicted that the next pandemic will be a mental health pandemic. The Office for National Statistics has already found that one in five adults are already experiencing symptoms of depression such as anxiety or low moods.To help...

According to student feedback, this week’s Advanced Tax exam was very time-consuming, and they struggled to finish the paper. However, unlike the 35-mark question in the December exam, no question felt impossibleLots of the usual suspects featured in the exam such as...

Neil Da Costa’s Tax Exam Podcast has now had more than 5,000 listens! Each episode is less than 15 minutes and covers a key topic what is likely to be examined. It is excellent for last minute revision as listening to the podcasts will allow the technical information...

With the Advanced Tax exam tomorrow, my students are busy doing their last-minute revision. Here is a list of 7 Tips outlining areas that are likely to feature. I would like to wish all of you the very best of luck tomorrow. Believe in yourselves and make it happen!...