About Us
About Godiva Tax Services, experts in domestic and expat taxation in the UK and USA.
Godiva Tax Services started in order to ease the tax path in this globalised world, to allow all taxpayers, be they UK and / or US, to benefit from world-class tax expertise. Both domestic and expat individuals deserve to put their tax returns and tax obligations on their "easy" rather than "frightening" list and we feel Godiva Tax Services offers the platform to do just that.
Just check out some of our amazing reviews.
Godiva uses only qualified accountants and enrolled agents, in both the jurisdictions in which we currently work. All are experts in domestic taxation, all are experts in expat tax issues
too.
Unlike many firms, we don't treat our clients as commodities. We know each person’s circumstances are unique, and we take the time to understand them. If it's important to our clients, it's
important to us too. We know that fair and up-front pricing is desirable. What we quote you is what you will pay. Simple, isn't it? We aim to make the process as straightforward
and as easy as possible. For many of our customers, domestic and expat taxes had been a bit of a nightmare in the past. We like to think we make it all a lot less painful!
Our Founder
Nick Smith is a 25 year plus qualified UK Chartered Accountant and has lived in numerous countries as an expat, and so understands the difficulties of satisfying tax obligations when abroad. Having lived in areas as diverse as the UK, France, Argentina and Australia, he has boots-on-ground knowledge of the needs of expats. Nick also founded his own London based "bricks-and-mortar" accountancy firm, dealing in general UK taxation, and so has a wide variety of knowledge in respect of all areas and spheres of the UK tax code as they impact domestic individuals and the self-employed.
Having qualified with Ernst & Young, Nick also worked for another of the Big 4 accountancy firms, KPMG, for many years. He also had experience working in-house for a FTSE listed UK
company, a Greenwich, UK, accountancy firm, and with a US expat specialist. This combined experience means he is uniquely placed to provide top quality, value for money services on the UK
side.
Nick works with a team of individuals to ensure that UK and US clients benefit from best-in-class knowledge on the preparation and completion of each country's tax returns. So you know you
will always get the best possible results. Highly qualified preparers, highly qualified reviewers. At a reasonable value-for-money price. Simple.
Godiva Tax Services
Why the name Godiva, we hear you ask? Many of you may not know the story of Lady Godiva, the patron of the City of Coventry, Nick's home town in the UK. So, here it is.
Godiva, Countess of Mercia, was an English noblewoman who, according to a legend dating at least to the 13th century, rode naked – covered only in her long hair – through the
streets of Coventry to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation that her husband imposed on his tenants. The name "Peeping Tom", for a voyeur, originates from later versions of this legend in
which a man named Tom watched her ride and was struck blind.
So, it's an old story about taxes, like many out there (such as Baa Baa Black Sheep which, interestingly, is about a 13th Century wool tax). Godiva was protesting about excessive taxation,
whereas Peeping Tom can perhaps be a comment about excess reporting undertaken by overenthusiastic Revenue authorities. So we thought, on a number of levels, Godiva Tax Services would be a
great name for us.