BEPS won't endanger industry but may hurt individual captives, members warned

Over 100 captive professionals met at London's Ironmongers Hall last month to discuss the pressing issues of the day, from Brexit to regulatory arbitrage.

In the workshop, jointly hosted by Airmic's Captives Special Interest Group and magazine Captive Review, the potential risk of international tax changes (BEPS) prompted the most lively debate, led by a panel moderated by Airmic's deputy CEO and technical director, Julia Graham.

BEPS should not be considered a danger to the captives industry, according to one panellist, Ciaran Healy, director of Captive Consulting at Willis Towers Watson, "so long as the industry continues to highlight its position and make the necessary preparations".

However, individual captives who "operate with a tax-led strategy" may be in danger, she warned. "Generally speaking, much of the BEPS package translates into already established best practice in captive strategy, design and governance and anything that promotes this cannot genuinely be viewed as a danger."

Engaging HMRC "in an open and up front way" has been useful, according to another panellist Tracey Skinner, director of insurance and risk financing at BT Group. "We worked with our captive manager and the tax team to take HMRC on our journey in order to seek their input and thoughts on the use of our captive from a BEPS perspective."

For more information on how to get involved with Airmic's Captive Special Interest Group, or to attend similar events, please contact Julia.graham@airmic.com.