I remember these sorts of schemes being heavily promoted to us as financial advisers a few years ago. The idea was that you could help the film industry, get a little of the glamour of being a movie financier and it would all be tax-free and bring down your tax bill into the bargain. My mantra on these things have always been that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is; and if I don’t understand it (what the heck is ‘sideways relief’ when it’s at home?), I shouldn’t be recommending it. So I didn’t. I know a few clients who were tempted and had a go themselves, but had the sense to realise it was a gamble which might not (and didn’t) pay off, in both cases because the films were never made. Many advisers working in the ‘high net worth’ market, however, did try to be, in my opinion, rather too clever, and it seems both they and their now not so high net worth clients may have caught a nasty cold. Caveat Emptor.
“Donating to charity via a will could see beneficiaries profit”
Including gifts to charity in your will is a nice thing to do, but it’s often only for those without anyone obvious to whom they can leave their worldly worth. Or perhaps when there are obvious recipients they don’t wish to benefit; families can be funny things.
