The Team

Peter Gladdish, Partner

Peter has significant experience of advising local authorities on VAT issues. He spent the last 3 of his 9 years with Customs and Excise as policy adviser to Customs’ local authority VAT teams. Peter subsequently joined Ernst & Young’s public sector VAT team in 1997.

In June 2003, recognising the demand for sensibly priced quality VAT advice within the local authority sector, Peter left Ernst & Young and started LAVAT.

As a long standing member of the CIPFA VAT Committee, Peter is regularly involved in providing input on policy matters and negotiating with Customs at HQ level.

Bill Petty, Partner

Bill also has a Customs background and has been involved in local authority VAT matters for almost 20 years. Prior to joining LAVAT, he was the VAT Director of the Public Sector Group at Ernst & Young where he was responsible for overseeing the provision of VAT services to Ernst & Young’s public sector clients.

Bill has facilitated quarterly Local Authority VAT Forums, which he hosts in five venues throughout Wales and the South of England, for over 16 years. He has lectured extensively on VAT and local authority issues. He has particular expertise in advising local authorities on regeneration initiatives, partnership arrangements and externalisation of in-house activities.

Rosie Jones, Consultant

Rosie has considerable experience of local authority VAT issues, gained in her role as Tax Compliance Officer with West Sussex County Council where she worked for 17 years, prior to joining LAVAT in April 2007.

At West Sussex, she provided a technical VAT helpline for all departments (including some 500 remote establishments), was the principal contact with HMRC, designed and delivered training courses, and developed systems and produced internal guidance notes. She has been an active member of the South East Counties VAT Group for 10 years; and more recently established a West Sussex VAT forum with her local Borough/Districts.

Rosie has recently attained a VAT Compliance Diploma with the Institute of Indirect Taxes.

Gordon Turner, Associate

Gordon’s VAT career started with Customs and Excise, working in both VAT control and Investigations, followed by a move to Leicestershire County Council where he became one of the first full-time VAT specialists in local government. He chaired the Central Counties consultative group and, in collaboration with Steve Williams (Lancashire County Council) set up the first national group. Whilst at Leicestershire, Gordon raised a challenge to Customs’ treatment of cultural services which led to the introduction of a new exemption in UK VAT law.

He left LCC to join the public sector advisory teams at, first, Ernst and Young and, then, PricewaterhouseCoopers. Whilst at PwC he helped develop the now widely recognised VAT shelter arrangements employed in LSVTs and, during that time, was the principal point of contact for advice on this.

With over 20 years’ experience in the sector, Gordon has developed a deep knowledge of local authority VAT issues including housing, property, education and economic development matters.