Spotlight on London Financial Crime Attorney Michelle Sloane

Our Spotlight series highlights the careers and lives of tax professionals around the world. This week’s Spotlight is on London attorney Michelle Sloane, a partner in Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP’s tax, regulatory, and financial crime team.

Sloane’s expertise is in indirect tax and criminal matters, particularly disputes involving value-added tax and customs and excise duties. She advised those facing criminal investigations and fraud allegations by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, and assists clients managing urgent issues such as HMRC raids. Before moving to the UK in 2006, she worked for the New Zealand government as a tax investigator and legal adviser to the tax investigations team.

When she isn’t working, you’ll find Sloane trying to keep up with her young son, cycling, or playing basketball.

What’s your official title and what does it mean? I am a partner in RPC’s tax, regulatory, and financial crime team.

Free time: book, audiobook, or podcast? My preference is a hard copy book. I do find podcasts great to listen to on the journey to work or when traveling and always have some downloaded on my phone. RPC’s “Taxing Matters” podcast is a must listen to for those in the tax world.

Tax is a huge subject. What’s your area of special interest? I specialize in the resolution of tax disputes and white collar crime. In essence, I advise corporations and individuals on complex tax inquiries, tax litigation, and criminal investigations/prosecutions by regulatory bodies.

What’s the last movie or show that you watched and loved (DVD, Netflix, or in the theater)? My last theater trip was to “Life of Pi,” as I loved the book and movie. It’s an amazing portrayal of humanity and our resilience to survive against all the odds. The theater staging and the reality of the animals was spectacular.

What college did you attend and what did you study? I attended school and university in New Zealand. I studied law and psychology at university, graduating with a bachelor of laws and a bachelor of arts degrees.

Go-to pick-me-up: Coffee or tea? Coffee for sure. I need one as soon as I wake up in the morning! My favorite is a flat white, which originates in New Zealand. It took a while to arrive on the café menus of London, but I was ecstatic when it finally did.

What’s the best tax or financial advice that anyone ever gave you? Make sure you have a pot of money saved for the unexpected and don’t live beyond your means.

If you weren’t working in the tax profession, what would your dream job be? I originally wanted to be in the police force and I love horse riding—the perfect combination is a mounted police officer.

If you had the opportunity to make one change in the tax world—an extra credit, a disallowed deduction, whatever—what would it be? There are lots of changes that could be made. In my tax litigation practice area, I would make the appeal rules in the UK for direct and indirect tax the same. The difference between the two makes it extremely difficult for taxpayers and increases the risk of important deadlines being missed by clients.

Favorite food, snack, or candy during tax season or other busy time? I love potato chips, or crisps as they’re called in the UK.

What tax news or move made the most impact on your practice or clients this past year? We have been advising a large number of our retail, manufacturing, and transport clients on the plastic packaging tax, which came into force in the UK on April 1, 2022. The rules are complex, and anyone potentially affected needs to ensure they have available robust evidence of decisions made regarding the application of the PPT.

If you received a big tax refund check right now, what would you do with it? I love traveling. I have, to date, traveled to over 60 countries, but there are many more on my list. The more exotic and culturally different, the better.

You can find out more about Sloane on LinkedIn.

You can learn more about Sloane’s firm, RPC, here.

If you’d like to recommend a tax pro to be featured, send your suggestion to rbaker@bloombergindustry.com with the subject: Spotlight. Please include the following information: tax professional’s name, title, email address, and geographic area (city/state/country).