Ray Smith is head of our corporate tax group.

Prior to joining Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP, Ray was a partner with Theodore Goddard and the subsequent merged firm, Addleshaw Goddard. He trained with Phillips Fox in Western Australia and also worked as a tax associate at Freshfields (now Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer).

Ray advises on tax planning, tax litigation and the full range of taxes in relation to corporate and financing transactions.

Ray’s work includes advising on the tax aspects of mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, private equity, inward investment, captive insurance companies, property, asset and debt finance, securitisations and bond issues, computer contracts and outsourcing and disputes and litigation with HM Revenue & Customs.

Ray is admitted to practice in both Western Australia (as a barrister and solicitor) and England and is a member of the VAT Practitioners Group.  He regularly writes for the tax and insurance industry press and speaks at client seminars on issues such as the tax aspects of joint ventures and group reorganisations.  Recent published work includes editing the tax section in Morgan and Burden On Computer Contracts and writing (1) the practice note on insurance premium tax (IPT) in the Tax Manual published by PLC (2) as joint author, an article in Tax Journal (20 May 2005) on the Travelers Casualty and Surety Company Case concerning the IPT treatment of the reinsurance of surety bonds, and (3) an article for Insurance Day (24 June 2005), concerning the VAT implications for the outsourcing and insurance industry of the ECJ decision in the Arthur Andersen Case.