The Gazette 1988

GAZETTE

MAY 1 9 88

tax liabilities with only minimal

correspondence with the Capital

Taxes Branch. Self-assessment

gives th e solicitor much more

control and offers the prospect of

being able to plan his/her business

to a much greater extent. The

administration of estates will also

be completed earlier.

An additional positive effect of

the scheme i s the likelihood that

solicitors will gain new insights into

the operation o f th e tax. This

should result in an enhancement of

the tax advice given to clients and

in less problems a t the payment

stage.

Specially designed forms and

Instructions

The design of the return form was

identified as critical to the success

of the pilot study. The intention

was to enable the taxpayer and his

or her adviser t o go through the

assessment procedure logically and

step-by-step. The design o f the

f o rm, suppo r t ed b y t h eins -

t r u c t i on s, wa s i n t ended t o

encapsu l a te t h e necessa ry

k now l edge t o suc ces s f u l ly

complete a computation.

To the extent that perfection i s

possible in the real world,

careful

adherence to the step-by-step

approach outlined in the form

should mean that any practitioner

completing it will not omit any

crucial

steps or

information

required for carrying out a correct

computation.

Most

solicitors

participating in the scheme have

found this to be the case.

Even

difficult issues such as aggregation

and apportionment have proven to

be t r ac t ab le using t h e self-

assessment form (in this regard we

should mention th e invaluable

c on t r i bu t i on wh i ch Mr . John

Quinlan, since retired f r om

Revenue, made to the design of the

form and th e planning o fth e

scheme). The instructions booklet

is also a useful primer on Capital

Acquisitions Tax, apart altogether

from its function in relation to self-

assessment.

Assurances for solicitors and

executors

Some solicitors have expressed

concern that because the pilot

scheme i sa vo l un t a ry one,

participation may expose them to

potential negligence claims from

their clients.

In order to deal with this concern

we ca n o f f er t h e f o l l ow i ng

assurances an d incentives t o

participants in the pilot scheme:

— every self-assessed r e t u rn

submitted under the Scheme

will be checked by a Revenue

official and th e participating

•solicitor will b e immediately

notified of any discrepancies or

errors in his or her computations;

in the event o f overpayments

refunds are, and will continue to

be, made immediately w i th

interest;

— if, subsequent to the time of self-

assessment and payment, i t

transpires that i twould have

been more advantageous from

the point of view of the taxpayer

to self-assess o n a different

basis (e.g. by taking a different

va l ua t i on date wh i ch still

accords w i th the facts o f the

case), the Capital Taxes Branch

is prepared t oaccept a re -

assessment and, i fnecessary,

refund any overpayment of tax

wi th interest;

— for the duration o f the Pilot

Scheme, and in respect o f any

cases coming within the ambit

of the Scheme, the Capital Taxes

Branch will no t invoke th e

secondary accountability pro-

visions i n the CAT legislation

against either a solicitor o r

executor once tax has been paid

on the basis of an agreed com-

putation. This means that i f

additional i n f o rma t i on sub-

ASKU S

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INTERPRETERS

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sequently becomes available

which indicates that the original

assessment and payment were

too low, the Capital Taxes Branch

will not seek payment of the tax

shortfall from either the solicitor

or executor involved.

We hope that these assurances will

encourage participation i n th e

scheme.

Progress Report

The first phase of the pilot study,

from June t oDecember 1987,

involved 186 firms of solicitors. By

the end of the year approximately

2 0 0 assessmen ts ha d been

received (the number has more

than trebled since then). Solicitors

using se l f - assessment

were

generally very pleased wi th the

scheme and a number of firms are

making increased us eo fself-

assessment a s th e advantages

become apparent. The accuracy of

the returns submitted so far has

been high. While some forms

needed a correction of some kind

these were mainly insignificant —

as can be illustrated by the fact that

the ne t extra amount o fta x

collected as a result of corrections

was less than 1% of total receipts

under the scheme.

Seminars/Workshops o n self

assessment

While the self-assessment form

and instructions constitute a fairly

complete do-it-yourself package,

we appreciate that there is also a

need for a supportive educational

effort.

A series o f one-day workshops

has been organised jointly with the

Law Society. These are based on

the principle o f learning by active

involvement. Practitioners are given

a range o f carefully structured

p r ob l em cases wh i ch

t hey

complete b y self-assessment o n

the new form. Revenue officials

give talks on the more complex

aspects and assist in the practical

exercises. About t w o hundred

solicitors have now attended the

workshops i nDublin and i n the

main provincial locations.

The response t o the seminars

has been excellent. There has been

a substantial increase i n th e

numbers of self-assessments being

submitted t o th e Branch. Th e

number o f corrections necessary

has also decreased dramatically.

Revenue staff have also gained