Waterford-based Stephanie Wickham’s Expat Taxes specialises in tax advisory services for expats and their employers and provides expert tax advice in a friendly and simple way.
Stephanie Wickham, a KPMG trained Chartered Tax Adviser and Chartered Accountant, moved to Perth, Western Australia with her husband in 2011.
While there she focused on the area of international and expatriate tax and in 2016 added to her family with a baby boy. By 2019, Stephanie and her husband had two children and decided now was the time to return home.
“I understand how stressful it can be managing tax issues when living overseas so I wanted to create a friendly Irish tax practice that would make expat taxes easier”
“We loved the Australian life-style but we also missed Ireland and we knew that if we stayed in Australia as the kids grew it would get harder to up-root them and relocate back if we ever wanted to. The time was right for us to return.”
Minimising tax exposure
After returning home, Stephanie set up her own business – Expat Taxes – specialising in tax advisory services for expats. “We want to provide expert tax advice in a friendly and simple way,” explains Stephanie. “We aim to explain complex tax issues in a simple way and we enjoy working with our clients to ensure they take advantage of all available reliefs to minimise tax exposure.
“I have worked in international and expatriate taxes for the last 10 years. Given there are so many Irish diaspora around the world I could see there was an opening for a tax advisory practice that catered specifically to expats and their employers. I understand how stressful it can be managing tax issues when living overseas so I wanted to create a friendly Irish tax practice that would make expat taxes easier.
“There are very few practices in the Irish market who cater solely for expats so we have found our clients are delighted to speak to someone who understands their tax issue and also who appreciates that living and moving abroad is a stressful event.”
Stephanie credits her experience on the Back for Business course with helping her get the business up and running so fast. “It’s a brilliant program and it really provides you with the kick-start you need when you return to Ireland with a plan to set up a business. It can be lonely when you return and your business network is not very well developed – Back for Business fast-tracks this. It was also fantastic to be able to sound out ideas with the Lead Entrepreneur and the other participants.”
Based in Stephanie’s home town – Waterford City – Expat Taxes recently launched a new website and has also engaged two freelancers with a plan to further develop Expat Taxes and its online presence.
“We have secured an amazing client over the course of the year – a large Japanese gaming company and we are providing expat tax services to their employees. We also plan to build on our existing corporate client base and offer Global Mobility Services to a broader range of clients. It has been fantastic to see the idea grow into a scalable business and there is so much scope for the business to grow in the coming years.”
Main image at top: Stephanie Wickham
This is the fourth year of the very successful Back for Business developmental programme, which is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Since the call for applications was launched in mid-December by Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora Colm Brophy, TD, there has been great interest in the initiative. To learn more click here
Published: 18 January 2021
