Upcoming Events :
Housing seminar: Getting the most out of your community energy scheme: an introduction
Wed 19 Jun 2013
Minerva House, 5 Montague Close, London, SE1 9BB
Martin Scammell
Position: Consultant
Martin specialises in VAT, with a particular emphasis on real estate and capital projects. He advises clients across a range of business sectors, including a number in the FTSE 100. He also works extensively with universities across the UK.
Martin is the author of the leading reference work on VAT and property, and a regular speaker at conferences. He is a member of the British Property Federation’s VAT Committee and of HMRC’s VAT Land and Property Liaison Group. Martin retains a close involvement with the evolution of VAT law and policy and has been responsible for a number of legislative developments, extra-statutory concessions and changes of official interpretation. Prior to becoming a consultant with Winckworth Sherwood he was a policymaker in Customs & Excise, a partner at Ernst & Young and head of the indirect tax team at Eversheds.
Recent experience
- A £1bn mixed use development including affordable housing, retail, leisure and community facilities
- Acting for universities on a range of property acquisitions and construction projects including for teaching, student accommodation, laboratories, conferencing and student union use
- Detailed negotiation of the VAT terms of a number of regeneration projects for leading house builders
- Structuring a public sector joint venture to maximise VAT recovery on capital costs and minimise VAT leakage on cross-charges
- Advising a major car manufacturer on its new UK headquarters
- Assisting one of the ‘big four’ worldwide advertising groups with a range of property issues
- Advising a financial services provider on a restructuring of UK property holdings
- A £70m joint venture development in the leisure sector
- Successful lobbying of HMRC on behalf of the university sector, to reverse a policy change
Work history
2009 to date, Consultant, Winckworth Sherwood (amongst other roles)
2007 to 2009, Head of Indirect Tax, Eversheds LLP
1986 to 2006, (Partner 1996 to 2006), Ernst & Young (previously Arthur Young)
1980 to 1986, HM Customs & Excise Policy
Publications
- VAT on Construction, Land and Property (looseleaf, published by Bloomsbury Professional)
- The VAT content of Tolley's Property Taxation (annual, published by LexisNexis)
- The UK chapter of Immovable Property Under VAT (published by Wolters Kluwer)
- Two chapters in VAT Issues and Solutions (published by Bloomsbury Professional)
- Online Practice Notes published by PLC Tax
- Numerous articles
