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Look for the full story, before making a judgment, recommends JOHN PRICE FCA, as he examines the tribunal's decision in The Game Conservancy Trust.
Are aggressive VAT planning schemes resulting in a nit-picking attitude by Customs?', I mused. 'First, they take the point in Higher Education Statistics Agency Ltd v Commissioners of Customs and Excise [2000] STC 332 that if you buy property at auction and pay a deposit on the spot, which will be held by the vendor's solicitor as agent, not stakeholder, that creates a tax point.
JOHN PRICE considers the advantages of filing an electronic VAT return and paying electronically and advises that this is an offer too good to be missed.
SUBMITTING VAT RETURNS electronically is one of the best offers that HM Revenue & Customs have ever made to traders and tax professionals. Five good reasons come to mind.
JOHN PRICE FCA suggests that Customs need to show some more understanding in their business relationships with small traders.
I SEE SERIOUS mistakes in how Customs handle their relationship with traders who they suspect of dishonesty. I have been defending a client since August 2003 against a VAT civil dishonesty penalty for supposedly paying central assessments and failing to submit returns showing the larger sums due. I believe I have found fundamental flaws both in Customs' behaviour and in their paperwork and feel that I must publicise them.
Value Added Tax
VAT on Conservatories
JOHN PRICE warns of the dangers of misleading VAT notices.
'HERE IS A construction pitfall', I said. 'You market conservatories to buyers of houses being constructed. You reckon not to charge VAT.'
Value Added Tax
Commercial Know-how
JOHN PRICE FCA explains how a company recovered the costs of trying to obtain money from finance houses.
'MY OH MY', I said. 'This company has recovered the input tax on the costs of being checked out by the financial sector. It was after money from the Bank of Scotland and 3i.'
Value Added Tax
The Milk Run
The tribunal decides that input tax on a car can be recovered. JOHN PRICE considers the restriction on the private use of cars.
'WELL, WELL, WELL!', I muttered, 'I thought that my previous article ("Input Tax on Cars", see Taxation, 19 February 2004 at page 484) had sorted out why a small business cannot normally recover VAT on a car, however infrequent the private use is in practice'.
The new five per cent VAT rate for some conversion and renovation work is not as straightforward as it may outwardly appear, warns JOHN PRICE FCA.
'THE SINGLE VERSUS multiple supplies debate gets more and more complicated,' I observed.
'You mean the arguments about whether an all in price covers a single supply or two or more at different rates of VAT? I thought that, what with the various cases which have gone to the High Court and the European Court of Justice, matters were getting sorted out with some principles defined,' rejoined the Busy Practitioner.
