Tottels Tax Annuals 2006/07

Competition is generally regarded as a Good Thing, and in tax publishing this must be the case if it drives down the price of the essential tax reference works. This year Tottel Publishing have challenged the Tolley dominance in this field by producing six tax annuals for just £19.95 each, or the full set for an amazing £99.50. The individual annuals for 2006/07 are:

• Capital Gains Tax by Andrew Goodall, Toby Harris and Iris Wünschmann-Lyall;
• Corporation Tax by Juliana Watterson;
• Income Tax by Sarah Laing;
• Inheritance Tax by Mark McLaughlin, Toby Harris and Iris Wünschmann-Lyall;
• Trusts and Estates by Matthew Hutton, and
• Value Added Tax by A St. John Price.

Don't be fooled by the extraordinary value of this set, these are quality books written to a very high standard. I believe the VAT annual alone is worth £99 as it is certainly the best practical VAT guide on the market. If you are not already convinced, here is a taste of contents and approach of three of the annuals:

Corporation Tax

This book is written in an approachable style with no waffle. The author has drawn on her own experience in a small practice to include exactly what the general practitioner needs to know about corporation tax.

The basics of self-assessment, tax rates, close companies and deductions from income are covered so succinctly and clearly that I would recommend these chapters as a student text. Indeed pages 80 to 100, which summarise the allowable deductions, should be committed to memory (or at least pasted on the wall for reference), by every tax or accounts senior who needs to complete corporation tax computations on a regular basis. Juliana has supported the explanation for each item with references to the HMRC manuals or to case law, so there is no excuse for not knowing why an item is deductible.

The more complex corporate topics are not ignored. Corporate finance, investment business, transfer pricing, reconstructions and demergers are all tackled with clarity. However, the most useful chapter for a busy practitioner has to be 'The Year End'. This includes samples of the CT returns and a summary of all the planning points that should be considered at this time. Each point has a cross reference back to the chapter where a full discussion of the issue is explored.

I certainly found what I needed to know from this book very quickly and easily. In short it was a joy to read.

Capital Gains Tax

The authors have not skimped on quality or relevance in this book and have managed to cover all the capital gains reliefs and exemptions that apply to individuals and trustees, with a brief summary of those that apply to companies, in just 370 pages. In fact the book works well as part of the set because it cross refers to the other annuals where the particular topic may be more extensively covered in those books.

As each topic is introduced its potential areas of application are summarised. Each point is then explained with examples and with many cross references to the HMRC manuals. These references are immensely helpful as trying to search for a topic on the HMRC website can be a frustrating experience.

Capital gains tax has been the subject of much fiddling over the years, which can make the computation of gains that have accumulated over a long period very complex. This book assumes the transaction under review occurred in 2005/06 or 2006/07 and gives the reader clear guidance to the previous rules that must be considered. If you need to calculate the tax due from a transaction that happened earlier than 6 April 2005, you should refer to an annual produced for that particular tax year.

Value Added Tax

At 40 chapters and over 600 pages this is the largest of the annuals but it is probably the most essential almost as every transaction has a VAT perspective. The book is written for the person (not necessarily an accountant), who needs a sound understanding of VAT, but otherwise has a business they want to get on with. I love the way it is arranged in three sections to direct you what to read first:

• What you must know.
• What you might need to know.
• Special situations.

This is just one illustration of the practical nature of this book; another is the large number of examples taken from real cases St. John Price has dealt with over his 30 plus years working as expert VAT adviser. He tells you what went wrong, why it occurred and how, if you heed his words, the same won't happen to you or your clients.

Even with the most complex topics St. John Price makes you feel he is there at your elbow guiding you through. For example when tackling international services (chapter 23), he says: "If you find this chapter heavy going, take heart! Everyone finds these rules difficult at first. The best way to learn them is to understand the basic idea; then leave the detail until you have a real situation to which to apply the rules". Sound advice from one who knows.

One of the problems with tax law is that it is constantly changing, but with VAT more than other taxes the ordinary businessman is expected to rely on the HMRC VAT leaflets and briefings for guidance. Unfortunately the HMRC VAT materials are not always complete, up to date or easy to find, which makes this book ever more necessary. To help the practitioner keep on top of the constantly changing official guidance the author has included a chapter; "How do I keep up to date with changes in VAT?". This takes the reader step by step through the morass of twists, turns and dead-ends which is the HMRC VAT website.

I have used earlier editions of this text for some years, which was previously part of the Tottel Tax Essential series, and I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who has a VAT problem. You know where you are with this book. You read it and understand what was previously unfathomable. For me, its indispensable.

My only disappointment with these annuals is that there is no book dedicated to national insurance. The Income Tax annual does cover NIC as part of the chapters on employment income and self-employment, but I feel more attention could have been given to this neglected but important area.

In conclusion

£99.50 for six quality works, has got to be the tax book bargain of the year. You will certainly save your clients £99.50 in no time if you follow the authors' clear advice.

To order Tottel’s Core Tax Annuals 2006-07, click here.

Rebecca Cave
November 2006

Article Added Thursday, 09 November 2006 | 1073 Hits

Your attention is drawn to the disclaimer on this site, which applies to the content in this section.