One minute with Fiona Clark, Partner at Goodman Jones
What’s keeping you busy at work?
UK tax for the globally mobile is keeping me on my toes. We’re seeing a surge in enquiries from people moving to or from the UK, as well as from families with overseas assets reviewing their position. Alongside client work, my role as Head of Tax spans strategy and planning through to training and developing the team.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known at the start of your career?
It’s never too early to start building your network. Many people find networking daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Genuine professional relationships, built over time, can be valuable both for your own development and for helping clients.
If you could make one change to tax, what would it be?
I’d get rid of the 60% tax trap. It doesn’t seem fair that people earning between £100,000 and £125,140 can face a higher effective rate than the top rate of income tax. We’ve all heard of people turning down promotions or reducing their hours to avoid falling into that band. Sensible tax planning is nothing new, but it feels wrong for the system to create such a strong disincentive to earning more. Tax policy should reward people for taking on more responsibility, not make them think twice about it. It’s also difficult to explain to clients why a slice of their income is effectively taxed more heavily than income above it. If we want a fair and transparent tax system, anomalies like this are hard to defend.
What’s topical in your world?
The abolition of the non-dom regime and the new Foreign Income and Gains regime come up almost every day. Many clients are still getting to grips with what the changes mean in practice – and the Statutory Residence Test is under the spotlight as people seek clarity on their residence position and how it interacts with the new rules.
We’re also seeing a marked increase in IHT enquiries. The changes to Business Property Relief, Agricultural Property Relief and pensions have prompted many families to revisit succession plans that have been in place for years. More broadly, there is a growing appetite for certainty. With so much change, clients increasingly want proactive, longer-term planning, rather than dealing with issues as they arise.
Has a recent tax case caught your eye?
I was interested to read the recent FTT case of Parker v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 652 (TC), which looked at transit days and exceptional circumstances under the Statutory Residence Test. Mr Parker, who worked in Iraq, passed through the UK between work and holiday, staying overnight near Heathrow. Taking a practical, purposive approach, the FTT held he remained in transit despite separate flight bookings or meeting family before travelling on, and that a night caused by a weather-related cancellation was an exceptional circumstance, excluded from his day count. It’s a timely decision given the focus on residence following the non-dom changes.
Finally, you might not know this about me but…
When I was thinking about what to do after university, I considered going into the wine trade. It didn’t quite work out that way, but I’ve remained an enthusiastic amateur ever since. In my (practically non-existent) spare time, I’m about to start studying for the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines. There’s a written exam and a tasting exam, so I’m having to practise both – which definitely makes studying more enjoyable!
One minute with Fiona Clark, Partner at Goodman Jones
What’s keeping you busy at work?
UK tax for the globally mobile is keeping me on my toes. We’re seeing a surge in enquiries from people moving to or from the UK, as well as from families with overseas assets reviewing their position. Alongside client work, my role as Head of Tax spans strategy and planning through to training and developing the team.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known at the start of your career?
It’s never too early to start building your network. Many people find networking daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Genuine professional relationships, built over time, can be valuable both for your own development and for helping clients.
If you could make one change to tax, what would it be?
I’d get rid of the 60% tax trap. It doesn’t seem fair that people earning between £100,000 and £125,140 can face a higher effective rate than the top rate of income tax. We’ve all heard of people turning down promotions or reducing their hours to avoid falling into that band. Sensible tax planning is nothing new, but it feels wrong for the system to create such a strong disincentive to earning more. Tax policy should reward people for taking on more responsibility, not make them think twice about it. It’s also difficult to explain to clients why a slice of their income is effectively taxed more heavily than income above it. If we want a fair and transparent tax system, anomalies like this are hard to defend.
What’s topical in your world?
The abolition of the non-dom regime and the new Foreign Income and Gains regime come up almost every day. Many clients are still getting to grips with what the changes mean in practice – and the Statutory Residence Test is under the spotlight as people seek clarity on their residence position and how it interacts with the new rules.
We’re also seeing a marked increase in IHT enquiries. The changes to Business Property Relief, Agricultural Property Relief and pensions have prompted many families to revisit succession plans that have been in place for years. More broadly, there is a growing appetite for certainty. With so much change, clients increasingly want proactive, longer-term planning, rather than dealing with issues as they arise.
Has a recent tax case caught your eye?
I was interested to read the recent FTT case of Parker v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 652 (TC), which looked at transit days and exceptional circumstances under the Statutory Residence Test. Mr Parker, who worked in Iraq, passed through the UK between work and holiday, staying overnight near Heathrow. Taking a practical, purposive approach, the FTT held he remained in transit despite separate flight bookings or meeting family before travelling on, and that a night caused by a weather-related cancellation was an exceptional circumstance, excluded from his day count. It’s a timely decision given the focus on residence following the non-dom changes.
Finally, you might not know this about me but…
When I was thinking about what to do after university, I considered going into the wine trade. It didn’t quite work out that way, but I’ve remained an enthusiastic amateur ever since. In my (practically non-existent) spare time, I’m about to start studying for the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines. There’s a written exam and a tasting exam, so I’m having to practise both – which definitely makes studying more enjoyable!
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