Harvey John
Unit 2 Ferry Wharf
Hove Enterprise Centre
Basin Road North
Portslade, East Sussex
BN41 1BD
A career in direct tax covers a range of fields and appeals to all skill sets.
For example, I much prefer legal research and opinion drafting to analysis of financial statements, but the beauty of direct tax is that everyone can find an enjoyable niche to best utilise their skills and knowledge.
Direct tax requires well-honed communication skills and the ability to explain complicated tax issues to numerous parties, because in the same day you face an anxious FD concerned about BEPS, you may also face a confused OAP who is worried by a HMRC notice. Additionally, foreign language skills are definitely a plus as many firms have a diverse client base. It is also a career boost to network and market tax services. A direct tax specialist must be comfortable with IT as more and more tax compliance shifts from paper to online. As a result, I would envisage a more collaborative style of working with HMRC in the coming years.
Harvey John have a great service for ambitious tax professionals and I am pleased to recommend them.
Richard Wernick, Private Client Tax Specialist

Market overview
Amidst recent political and economic turmoil, tax professionals are amongst those reaping the rewards. With the heightened pace of automation & technology, alongside the changing face of global trade, and the establishment of the gig economy, we’re seeing an increased demand for direct tax expertise across practice and industry.
Over recent months, specialists across the private client tax, corporate tax and transfer pricing spaces have been at the heart of tax hiring plans. As with all tax disciplines within professional services, the necessity to hire experienced talent and upskill the team is never far from a conversation.
In commerce and industry, tax very much shares center stage with its finance counter-parts. Whilst the FTSE are continuously looking to bolster their international teams, we’re also seeing a growing number of first-time tax opportunities opening up.
The tax landscape makes for a diverse and fruitful ground of opportunities for those with the acquired skills. For more information on roles within your specialism or preferred location, contact David and Claire for practice or Ed and Tom for commerce and industry.
Our coverage of Direct Tax
Who do we recruit?
From boutiques to Big 4 firms, and FTSE 250 to Global 500 companies, we cover both practice and in-house positions across the global market. Our areas of focus are:
- Corporate Tax
- In-house
- Private Client
- R&D
- Trusts
- Employer and Expatriate
- Transfer Pricing

What grades do we recruit?
To truly be specialists in the entire direct tax sector, we believe in engaging with the entire market. Knowing what takes place at grassroots as well as what influences movements at the leadership grade gives us that ‘big picture’ approach.
From Tax Assistants to Partners and Global Heads of Tax, we recruit across all grades.

Recent Engagements
- Corporate Tax Partner | Top 10 Firm | UAE
- Operational Tax EMEA Regional Director | Multinational firm
- Head of Tax | Regional Practice
- Transfer Pricing, Vice President | International Asset Manager
- Senior Tax Manager, EMEA | International Insurance Firm
- Employment Tax Senior Manager | Boutique Firm
- Insurance Tax Manager | Big 4
- Personal Tax Manager | Leading Independent Firm
- FS Transfer Pricing Manager | Big 4
- Tax Technology Assistant Manager | Top 10 Firm
- US/UK Expatriate Tax Advisor | Top 20 Firm

Meet the Team
Our Latest Vacancies
Tax Newsletter
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