Team
Artha Estate Planning Team
The Artha Estate Planning offering was formed as a result of the need for expert advisors who understand the complexities and intricacies of UK and Indian Market and are able to provide bespoke and complete solutions here in the UK without the need for clients to navigate through the complexity and process.
Harish Dass - FCA, CTA, BA Econ (Hons)
Harish works in partnership with the team at Artha Estate Planning, which he co-founded, allowing him to offer a fully integrated service with over 70 years of combined experience in advising HNW/UHNW individuals and families from all over the world, with a specific expertise in UK/India.
Harish has over 20 years of experience advising UK Resident Non Domiciled families through the myriad of cross border tax and legal complexities. As a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Tax Advisor, Harish has built up his expertise working in some of the largest top tier global Accountancy and Business Advisory firms.
Harish’s unique approach centres around clients seeing themselves as an extension of their business. Harish always takes the holistic view and his strategy considers his clients’ impact in respect of personal, corporate, and indirect taxes, enabling him to provide the best possible advice tailored to his clients, achieving the most efficient and commercial outcome.
Harish’s background and experience makes him best placed to help his clients today.
After graduating with a BA(Econ) Hons in Economics from The University of Manchester in 1999, Harish joined PwC, London as part of the graduate ACA programme. Harish worked within the International Structuring, CIPS and the MidCap teams.
Harish joined Grant Thornton’s London-based Entrepreneurial Services Tax team in 2007 where he advised a number of the UK's most successful Entrepreneurial Business families on holistic tax planning covering personal, corporate, estate, indirect taxes and transfer taxes .
Harish was a pivotal member of the South Asia Group (SAG) at Grant Thornton, where he developed a particular niche in advising HNW and UHNW families of the South Asian Diaspora.
In November 2012, Harish joined Smith & Williamson to head up the Asian Business Group (ABG). Harish developed a great network of clients and intermediaries from across the UK as well as Internationally to ensure a seamless interaction between both the Corporate and Private Client teams. He emphasised the key for Entrepreneurs was seeing themselves as an extension of their business and that any tax advice must be provided holistically covering both implications for the company/business as well as for the individual.
Harish was voted “Best in Accounting ” as part of the English Asian Business Awards.
Whilst not advising his clients, Harish can be found on a rugby pitch supporting his two sons from the sidelines or in the stands watching one of the World’s best football teams. Harish is an active fundraiser for Cancer Research.”
Nikhil Mehta - Barrister, Advocate (India), CTA (Fellow)
Nikhil is a tax barrister and a member of Gray’s Inn Tax Chambers, London, which he joined at the beginning of 2010. He is also an Indian advocate. He has practised international tax for over 30 years. He began his career at the tax bar in Mumbai in the Chambers of the late Sanat P. Mehta, and then worked as a Government lawyer in the Inland Revenue Solicitor’s Office in London.
He spent 18 years at Linklaters, 13 as a partner. He set up Linklaters’ India Business Group and was also co-head of the Contentious Tax Group. Prior to his return to the English Bar, he was the first UK tax partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, based in their London Office. He was also one of their lead partners on Indian work.
As a barrister, he undertakes advisory/planning work including tax risk management as well as litigation.
His practice covers a broad spectrum of tax including cross-border M&A, structured finance, derivatives, private equity and hedge funds, entrepreneurs’ tax issues, private clients, capital markets, investment funds, corporate reorganisations and restructurings, employee taxation and tax litigation.
He remains active on India-related transactions, acting both for Indian clients and for foreign clients with Indian interests. When practising in Mumbai, he was involved in Indian estate duty matters including litigation in the Indian courts. He now advises Indian-origin family members on the effects of the DTT on a technical and strategic level including dealing with HMRC. As this work is preventive i.e. to avoid problems in the event of death, he advises families on a multi-generational basis including second and later generations born in the UK.
He is regularly mentioned as a leading lawyer in various tax and legal directories including Chambers and the Legal 500.
He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and is a member of the Institute’s Council.
Non-Exec
Raj Patel LLB (Hons)
Raj qualified as a UK solicitor in 2007. He spent 8 years at Lawrence Graham LLP (now Gowlings) and Berkeley Law (now Irwin Mitchell), advising HNWIs and their families on international estate planning.
In 2013, he joined Trident Trust Group to lead their India business across the group. During this time, he worked alongside leading Indian advisors, including the big 4 accountancy firms, to implement fully compliant international structures.
In 2018, Raj returned to private practice as a partner with Michelmores LLP, advising on international wealth planning with a focus on the UK/India corridor and, in particular, the application of the UK/India double tax agreement (with respect to inheritance/estate tax). He left Michelmores in 2019 and joined Artha Estate Planning as a non-executive director.