All practitioners, especially tax advisers, whether onshore or offshore, should have a copy of (the 18^th) of Clarke’s Offshore Tax Planning 2011-11 in this latest edition from Butterworth’s LexisNexis.

Within its almost 1100 pages, you have immediate access to the combined expertise of three top practitioners in this complicated area of law, as author Giles Clarke is joined for the first time in this new edition by his two colleagues Dominic Lawrance and John Roberts, plus seven additional expert contributors.

Usefully, the authors define offshore tax planning as ‘arrangements which use the territorial limits of the UK tax code to minimize UK tax without incurring significant tax liabilities in other jurisdictions’.  As is the case in all tax planning, the minimization of exposure to tax is the ultimate aim.  This is no easy task in offshore tax planning when you consider how much the subject matter has expanded over the last 25 years since the first edition of Clarke’s was published.

Combining erudition and readability, the book takes a practical approach to this complicated subject, dividing it into three main areas.  Tax planning techniques are explained in Part A. Part B provides an analysis of the legal framework, and Part C examines the relevant anti-avoidance legislation, including such issues as transfer pricing and offshore funds. 

The book offers ample tools for research, including tables of statutes, and statutory instruments, together with at least 20 pages of cases.  These incorporate decisions of the European Court of Justice, which are also listed numerically in a separate section at the end. What makes the contents of the book particularly accessible is the sixty-seven page index, which is reassuringly detailed when you’re short of time and need to access information in a hurry. 

This annual update to Clarke’s includes much new material pertaining to legislative and other changes that have been implemented over the past year to September 2011.  For the tax practitioner involved in global business, this new edition remains an essential purchase.