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GAZETTE
B O O K
R E V I E W S
APRIL 1994
I
Value Added Tax
By Denis Cremins and Dermot
O'Brien, published by The Institute
of Taxation in Ireland, 1993, 260pp,
£15 (Plus £2 P&P)
Introduction
The third edition of the Institute of
Taxation's book on Value Added Tax,
written by
Denis Cremins
and
Dermot
O'Brien
, is now available from the
Institute at the very reasonable price
of £15.
This latest edition is a neat, compact,
manageable and tidy 260 pages and
will be of interest to students,
Revenue officials, accountants and
lawyers. This book will also be of use
to the student of VAT.
The format is the same as that of the
earlier editions. I like the way each
chapter (which covers a section of the
VAT Act) starts with "The Big
Picture", or overview, and then goes
on to deal with the detail.
For example, chapter 8 starts simply
and clearly "Only taxable persons are
within the charge to VAT. It is
necessary, therefore, for the
Act to define who are taxable
persons". The rest of the chapter
gives the full details about taxable
persons.
The book is a technical one and
liberally uses the language of VAT.
The student who studies this book
properly will find that (s)he will gain
a true overall understanding of VAT
law and not just a handyman's
understanding of its application in
particular circumstances as sometimes
happens with texts on tax which shy
away from being technical.
The student will also find many
examples which illustrate the
concepts. For example, when
explaining where the sale of services
connected with property takes place it
says "under this rule a Dublin
auctioneer selling property in London
supplies his services outside Ireland".
Again, when explaining the package
rule a simple example is given to
illustrate the point: "For example, the
sale of a teddy bear with a child's
pyjamas as a unit for one price will
make the pyjamas liable to VAT at
21%, rather than the zero rate."
Such examples are a refreshing
change from the ponderous, pedantic
and sterile examples that some
authors choose to demonstrate the
seriousness and importance of
their work.
Chapter 53 of the book deals with
Revenue audits and VAT inspections.
This will be of great use to the student
in giving him or her a knowledge of
the practical application of the tax.
There is a full explanation of the
appeal system in Chapter 54,
including an explanation of the role of
the European Court of Justice and the
inter-action of domestic law with the
EC directives.
Revenue Officials, Accountants,
Lawyers
The authors, so familiar themselves
with the legislation and no doubt
fearing a loss of accuracy, have
employed a style and usage near the
language of the statute often quoting
directly from it. This might not appeal
to all readers particularly those less
versed in VAT than the authors. In
addition the book - because of its size
- cannot be expected to give the
practitioner an insight into the more
obscure points, such as composite
versus multiple supplies. It would take
a far more sizeable book to cover
all that.
The needs (but not the objectives, of
course) of Revenue officials,
accountants and lawyers are similar in
that all are seeking to find with ease
and speed the VAT law and practice
about a particular point. This need is
catered for by a comprehensive index.
The authors have obviously gone to
pains in preparing the index with the
result that the reader can get to the
relevant section quickly. For example,
those who want to find out about input
credits will find a reference in the
index not only under "I" but also
under "D" - Deductible tax, and again
under "R" - Relief. The thoroughness
of the authors increases the reader's
chances of getting to his or her target
irrespective of what heading he or
she uses.
Because of the section-by-section
format of the book, the practitioner or
official will have no difficulty in
finding his or her way from the text to
the relevant section, order or
regulation if he/she so needs. There is
a useful list of the Statements of
Practice on page 237.
The book also has some practical and
worthwhile tips such as the one for
liquidators and receivers: "In a
protracted liquidation or receivership
the final disposal of even a small
quantity of assets should be delayed,
to retain VAT registration and so the
right of input credit."
The book is stronger on case law than
the earlier editions, with the main
Irish, UK and European Court of
Justice decisions being given.
Mr and
Mrs Romplemann, Ursula Becker
and
Polysar
are all there. Not alone are the
cases listed at page 251 but they are
referred to in the relevant part of the
text and the index is cross-referenced
to the text.
For solicitors dealing with VAT this
book is a worthwhile purchase.
Fergus Gannon
115