Meet Marc Dorsett, Tax Partner at Gepp Solicitors. Marc joined the firm in 2015 and became an Equity Partner in April 2024.
Five months into his new role as an EP, we caught up with Marc to discuss everything from the challenges of being a “numbers man” in a law firm, the unexpected journey that led him to a career in tax, and his passion for simplifying the client experience. We also explored his thoughts on the future of tax, his advice for young professionals, and what drives his commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives. Here’s what we learned:
- How has tax changed since you first started your career in Tax?
Legislation has changed a lot since I started. I am old enough to remember pre-self-assessment for individuals, but only just! A new Government usually brings the biggest changes as they will often have different goals and different a demographic to appeal to.
- What challenges do you face being a ‘numbers man’ amongst lawyers?
The biggest challenge, I think, is the misunderstanding that only accountancy firms can deal with tax issues. Often, clients will have an accountant for their tax and a lawyer for the legal bits. However, rather than splitting the work between the two, why not use one firm for both areas? For example, if someone is looking at estate planning, a “one firm, combined service” approach can help streamline the client experience as everything is tied up together. Gepp Solicitors is an unusual firm for its size as we have a decent tax offering, with experience in many areas, and can provide a unique service to clients.
- What is one piece of tax advice that you think everyone should be aware of?
I’m going to cheat and give two.
- Plan early. Don’t leave tax planning to the last minute as this can limit your options. Even if you aren’t sure if you need to do something, a free 10 minute chat with one of our advisers can at least help put your mind at ease.
- Get a will and LPAs in place. It can be very costly for family and loved ones if something goes wrong and you haven’t got anything in place.
- How would you like to develop your services over the next three years?
We are quite unique for a firm of our size as we have qualified Chartered Tax Advisers in the team and this gives us the ability to provide bespoke tax planning to clients, and deal with the legal work required to affect the planning. I would like to capitalise on the tax offering and grow this by encouraging further development of the team and also bring in new faces with a tax background.
- What advice would you give to a 20-year-old Marc?
I once read somewhere that we, in the present, are the sum of all our decisions in the past both good and bad. There is no point looking back at what we would change as that’s not possible, we just need to learn and grow from our decisions. So, in essence, and to answer the question, I’d tell myself to just smile more when I do whatever I decide to do.
- What inspired you to pursue a career in tax?
Luck really. I was working in a sausage factory after university, with no idea what to do. My sister was working for a Big 4 firm as a tax trainee, and they were looking for new trainees. I applied and got the job. I wouldn’t have even considered a career in tax otherwise.
- You’re on the firm’s ESG Committee. What is ESG and why is it important to you?
ESG is several factors. It is putting back and giving to the local community. It is protecting the environment for current and later generations. It is about caring.
I am passionate about ESG and was a founder member of the firm’s CSR committee (as it was known then).
It isn’t just about fund raising for small local charities, which we try to do as much as possible, it’s so much bigger than that. Cutting down on paper usage, recycling in the office, planting insect friendly flowers in the firm’s greenspace, and looking at ways we can all help our environmental and social impact.
The firm takes ESG seriously and I am pleased to be a part of this.
- How have improvements in technology impacted upon your clients?
Everything is now online, particularly at HMRC. This is both a blessing and a curse. Some aspects are easier, but others are more complex due to layers of risk and client authorisation. It can be hard for clients to understand sometimes that we can’t do everything for them as agents and that they need, for example, to create a Government Gateway account for the CGT return to be completed online. On balance, I think it’s probably more efficient now but it does mean that there are less people answering phones at HMRC, which is a whole other issue..
- What is your priority when advising clients?
Helping them get to a position that is good for them and completely legal with no grey areas. We don’t deal with tax avoidance schemes, and I wouldn’t generally recommend them. I always make sure that the client is happy with the planning, decisions shouldn’t just be about saving tax. You need to be comfortable with what you are doing. As they say, “don’t let the tax-tail wag the dog”.
- What gives you a sense of achievement?
Talking to clients who have a tax problem and working with them to mitigate the tax and leave them happy. It is genuinely pleasing when clients are happy that they worked with you.
