The Taxcafe Team

Carl Bayley BSc FCA

Carl began his career as a chartered accountant over 40 years ago and is now one of the country’s most respected tax experts. He was Chairman of the Tax Faculty at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) from 2015 to 2018 and served as a member of the institute's governing council from 2003 to 2023. Carl has written over 10 plain-English tax planning guides and is a regular contributor to newspapers including The Times and The Telegraph, as well as TV and radio programmes such as BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show.

Nick Braun MSc PhD

Dr Nick Braun founded Taxcafe in 1999. Since then, the company has become one of the UK's best-known tax publishers and has won several prestigious business awards. Nick has been a specialist tax writer since 1989, first in South Africa where he edited the monthly Tax Breaks publication, and since 1999 in the UK, where he has authored several tax books. Nick also has a PhD in economics from the University of Glasgow, where he was awarded the prestigious William Glen scholarship and later became a Research Fellow.

Gordon Graham

Gordon is Taxcafe's General Manager. He has been part of the Taxcafe team for over 20 years and handles all aspects of running the business. He also helps customers choose the most appropriate guide and handles other customer questions.

Aileen Smith MA PhD

Aileen founded Taxcafe.co.uk with Nick in 1999. She obtained a doctorate in art history from the University of Aberdeen and following a career in art consultancy completed a PgDip in Multimedia.

James Smith BSc FCA

James is the author of several guides for small business owners and private individuals. He originally trained with KPMG, one of the largest accounting firms in the country, and now runs his own accounting practice based in Oxfordshire dealing predominantly with owner managed businesses and property tax.

John Shearer AIIT

John has very wide experience in VAT having worked in Customs and Excise for over 20 years. Since 1995 he has worked in the accountancy profession for national and international firms including Coopers & Lybrand, PWC, WJB Chiltern and Francis Clark. John has advised in all sections of business and in respect of charities, educational bodies, estate management, international transport and in the public sector and is now an independent VAT consultant.