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GAZETTE
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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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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
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