The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners has launched a new UK tax planning qualification in response to the increasing complexity of advising international high net worth individuals and families.

The technical content for the STEP Advanced Certificate in UK Tax for International Clients was supplied by Boodle Hatfield, the UK-based private client law firm. The content was written by Boodle Hatfield solicitor Jenny Wilson-Smith, with assistance from associates Eleanor Sepanski and Emma Haley, and editorial input by Julie Hutchison of Standard Life. It includes modules on domicile, residence, residence of trusts, income tax, CGT, the remittance regime, IHT, offshore trusts and the UK family home.

“The 2008 Finance Act has made the provision of tax planning advice to international individuals and families complex and high-risk. Similarly, the tax treatment of non-UK resident trusts has also undergone significant change. This new qualification is designed to equip advisors, giving them the technical know-how to deliver complex advice in a timely manner,” said Geoffrey Todd, a partner in Boodle Hatfield’s private client and tax team who was responsible for overseeing the Certificate’s content.

Those wishing to enroll for the new qualification have until 28 September of this year; exams will be held in January and July 2013 in London, Jersey, Guernsey, the Bahamas, Hong Kong, Geneva and Zurich.

The Advanced Certificate in UK Tax for International Clients is the latest in a growing number of qualification options for private client advisors, and forms part of a noticeable trend towards practitioners in the wealth management space taking advanced level qualifications.

In February of this year, for example, the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment’s announced that record numbers of candidates had passed its Level 6 Certificate in Private Investment Advice and Management at the most recent sitting – reflecting the growing desirability of this qualification ahead of the implementation of the Retail Distribution Review. The Financial Services Authority has stipulated that all advisors are at least QCF Level 4 (undergraduate equivalent) qualified by the start of January 2013; the PCIAM is a degree-level qualification.