When Dan Neidle left his role as UK head of tax at Clifford Chance in April last year, it wasn’t to embrace the quiet life. Setting up Tax Policy Associates as a think tank, he now inhabits a role that straddles law, policy and investigative journalism, and in the process has made tax quotable. And he knows the questions to ask. His work has showed that the abolition of the tampon tax has benefited retailers, not women, and he partnered with The Lawyer on research showing that because partnerships do not play employer NI contributions the Treasury is missing out on up to £1bn in contribution to the public finances.
Neidle’s foray into the wider spotlight came when a post he wrote about former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs – which have since made headline news – attracted a threatening letter from the latter’s lawyers. Neidle took the exchange public and within days found himself crusading against strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) and lobbying the SRA. Within a few months the regulator decreed that lawyers cannot attempt to prevent publication of libel letters by claiming they are confidential. This year Neidle plans yet more investigations into tax avoidance in high-profile sectors. Never has a tax lawyer had so many fans.