Gift aid (the other kind)

It’s almost that special season once again. Coming but once a year, it’s stressful but exciting, hectic but satisfying. Yes, it’s a wonderful time, indeed. First, though, there’s Christmas to get through.

Think about what you’d like ol’ St Nick to bring you in his bulging sack. You’ve no idea? That’s only natural: a mind focussed on UTRs, dividend vouchers and P60s isn’t going to be giving serious attention to decking the walls with bows and holly (or whatever).

Here’s what to do: buy everyone Amazon gift certificates – they’re available in any amount up to £500 and can be emailed or posted directly to the intended recipient – and then direct your loved ones (and employees, perhaps) to the following pressie suggestions, marking the ones you fancy most. There’s bound to be something.

• Figuring out complex share pool valuations will be fun with a giant calculator from TeamBuildingShop.com (£7.99).
   
• Don’t bust a lung by lugging crates of Yuletide ale home from the supermarket; make it at home. That means no duty! Starter kits from TheHomeBrewShop.co.uk are £62.51 and will produce enough beer for even the thirstiest tax adviser.
   
• For the accountant who’s teetotal or is facing a lot of late nights up to 31 January, delicious ground coffee is the answer. Whittard.co.uk has gourmet java from around the world – strong, medium and mild varieties – and the festive tin in which to store it.
   
• There’s dust and cobwebs in the unkempt corners of HMRC’s website. Wash them away with a Vileda Supermop from CleaningSuppliesUK.com. (Head and handle sold separately; total price: £9.97 inc. VAT.)
   
• For a gent: how about some smart, adjustable braces to wear at next year’s Taxation Awards (MarksandSpencer.com, £18)? For a lady planning to attend the prize-giving, Accessorize.com has a delightful, metallic clutch bag for £30.
   
• Tolley’s Yellow and Orange books get bigger and heavier every year – and until the Office of Tax Simplification gets its finger out, those manuals will be increasingly cumbersome. Carry them with ease: use a mini mechanical lifter (£99 ex. VAT) from PalletTruckShop.co.uk.
   
• A more practical, albeit more costly, form of transport for weighty reading material is the latest Kindle e-reader, which Amazon.co.uk knocks out from £109. The Yellow book is expected to be available for the handsome, wi-fi-enabled gadget (and iPad and BlackBerry, among other devices) from next week (beginning 13 December). Orange is set to be on sale for download by the end of the month.
   
• For bibliophiles, essential tax information is still very much available in paper-and-ink form; the number one publication is surely Tolley’s Tax Guide (£74.95 from Waterstones.com).
   
• Christmas is a time for thinking about others – and tax! Combine the two via Charity-Gifts.org, a portal for all sorts of worthy gifts. Adopt a penguin! Sponsor a child! Before making a commitment, think carefully. Do you make the gesture on behalf of someone, or do give money towards a charitable gesture? After all, it depends on who’s the higher rate payer for gift aid purposes.
   
• If altruism isn’t your thing and frivolous spending revs your engine, drive no further than a working replica of the Batmobile, available complete with rocket-exhaust flamethrower from Firebox.com for a whopping £120,000. It’ll get the driver to client meetings at a fair lick; top speed is 90mph, which ain’t bad for an oversized toy that weighs nearly two tonnes. And, given that it’s the fabulously-finned version from the 1960s TV show, the car qualifies for road tax purposes as a classic (it says here). If it’s really authentic it’ll run on nuclear power and therefore create zero carbon dioxide emissions – thus qualifying for 100% capital allowances and a 5% benefit-in-kind charge. Vroom, vroom!

Categories: Amazon , BlackBerry , gift aid , iPad , Kindle , Office of Tax Simplification , Orange book , Taxation Awards , Tolley , Yellow book