6 minute read
Soteria Trust
21
Soteria Trusts has won an award under the Trust and Fiduciary Services category in the Hong Kong Business Magazine’s High Flyer Awards 2021. Now on its 18th year, the awards programme has hailed businesses representing a wide range of industries, including banking and finance, insurance, legal services, interior design, F&B, ICT services, that have exemplified how a remarkable commitment to innovation, strong focus on customer service, and adherence to social responsibility make a business successful.
By assisting clients to manage, grow, and protect their valuable assets within their lifetime and to create a tax‑efficient legacy for their beneficiaries, Soteria Trusts proved that they are one of the top Trust and Fiduciary services in Hong Kong.
Soteria Trusts is one of nine brands that the Business Class Group operates throughout the region. Each has its unique offering, including Retirement and Tax Planning, Investment Planning, Hong Kong and UK Real Estate Investment, Mortgage broking, Insurance broking and Will Writing services.
Business Class Group has representatives in China, Bangkok, France and the United Kingdom, but their main operations are in Hong Kong with a substantial network of business introducers, including tax advisors, law firms, real estate agents and family offices.
Matthew Dorrell, Director of Business Development in Soteria Trusts, said that their fiduciary solutions can be tailored to cater to the specific needs of their clients. This may include international tax planning and asset protection from taxes, creditors or even just a family conflict, where they can advise on investment choices and platforms that will be the most beneficial to the individual.
“As part of a larger group of companies, advisors in Soteria Trusts understand the multiple challenges associated with wealth management and asset protection. Companies within Business Class Group help clients to manage and grow their wealth with investment solutions, including property investment and mortgages, as well as building investment portfolios and retirement funds. This creation of wealth can however lead to increased tax liabilities that also require further planning,” Dorrell said.
“By being a boutique consultancy in Hong Kong, we listen to our clients and provide the most appropriate solution based on their needs and requirements. Clients are not just a number, but a trusted relationship,” he added.
Dorrell also emphasized that Soteria Trusts focuses on education. Their clients, which include UK property owners ‑ not only of British Nationality but also local Hong Kong citizens, are often unaware that they are liable to multiple UK taxes associated with UK property ownership. He said that changes can be made once the property is acquired, by getting the asset into a more tax‑efficient structure but also believes that if clients are given the opportunity to find out about the Soteria IHT Planning Service prior to
PHILOSOPHY
Deliver excellent service at an affordable cost through honesty and transparency
FAST FACTS
• Save hundreds of thousands and in many cases millions in future estate related taxes
• Protect assets from Creditors
• No Probate following death
• Increase awareness - Income or
Corporation Tax, Capital Gains
Tax, Inheritance Tax, Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings & Stamp
Duty
• Receive thousands back in overpaid Stamp Duty
This page: Soteria Plan Guides
Opposite page: Matthew Dorrell, Director of Business Development, Soteria Trusts
any purchases, that it would lead to considerable savings in future taxes and structuring costs.
The most popular services for clients that have been successful in their catalogue are the IHT Planning Service, which mitigates UK taxes associated with owning UK property as well as their UK Stamp Duty Tax Reclaim Service.
Any UK national with property/assets anywhere in the world, or non‑UK national with property/assets in the UK are subjected to several direct or indirect taxes, including IHT Inheritance Tax (40%) and CGT Capital Gains Tax (28%).
The IHT Planning Service allows clients to move property/assets into a unique, government‑approved Pension structure, which eradicates both IHT and CGT completely, resulting in considerable savings. All asset classes can be placed into the pension and the client is still able to buy and sell property/ assets at any time.
Partnering with our Chartered Tax Advisor in the UK, we also provide a unique service to determine if you can reclaim overpaid Stamp Duty Tax and this has been extremely popular with clients as we can retrieve 40‑70% of what they originally paid. Our service also extends to those who are looking to buy property in the UK, ensuring you are not overpaying in Stamp Duty Tax from the outset.
“We follow a process of education and explaining the service to groups of UK property owners in Hong Kong and across the world,” Dorrell said.
Recently, they managed to reclaim £120,000 from HMRC for one such client as he had overpaid the original SDLT on the purchase of an investment property in London. This client then used part of the claim to set up the “Property Pension” to hold his portfolio of UK investment properties, resulting in his 40% Inheritance Tax and 28% Capital Gains Tax liability becoming zero.
“This drastically increased the net worth of his property portfolio, as well as what he will eventually be leaving behind for his two children. Clients are always extremely grateful when we can reclaim Stamp Duty Tax (SDLT) for them from HMRC,” he added. This service is available for property purchases of up to four years ago.
The company’s philosophy to deliver excellent service at an affordable cost through honesty and transparency has not changed because of the pandemic. Soteria Trusts has been running regular webinars twice a month about UK taxes related to property ownership.
The “Stamp Duty Land Tax Webinar” has proved to be successful in explaining to people what they can do to potentially reclaim a substantial amount of overpaid SDLT. The “UK Property & Tax Seminar,” discusses in detail all property‑related taxes, some of which the owners didn’t even know they are liable for, and of course, ways to minimize these taxes.
The company has also started a blog, called ”Insights”, where they regularly write about Inheritance Tax, changes in UK taxes, Stamp Duty Land Tax, estate planning to further educate their audience.
By being a part of a group that covers almost all aspects of financial planning that a person can have, Soteria Trusts believe that their unique service offers clients excellent value for money, often saving them and their loved ones hundreds of thousands of pounds in taxes.
“By putting a structure in place to create a legacy for our client’s families we ensure that their wealth is transferred to future generations to come, and importantly, in line with their wishes. That is the essence of our fiduciary services as we are the guardians and protectors of our client’s life’s work, all within the sanctuary of Soteria Trusts,” Dorrell said.
“At Soteria Trusts we are concerned not only about the here and now, but also about our client’s future and beyond their lifetime,” he added.
