Value Added Tax: A Business by Business Guide

When VAT was introduced into the UK in 1973 it was heralded by the authorities as a tax that would be simple to understand and simple to operate. Sadly it has to be recognised that the tax, in many aspects of its operation, is becoming more complex each year and that increasingly many areas of business are affected by specific exceptions and reliefs which are incorporated in the system, sometimes by regulation but often by practice. This book sets out to overcome some of the more specific difficulties that people find to trying to understand the operation of the tax by analysing how it applies to particular types of business operation. The book is aimed at professional advisers and others who find themselves confronted with the need to advise on a wide variety of clients' operations and need to be able to appraise their clients of how the tax works in practice so far as they are concerned. Part 1, comprising chapters 1 to 10, contains a review of the general principles of VAT and of various operational aspects which affect businesses of all kinds. Part 2, comprising chapters 11 to 33, identifies a range of specific businesses and describes the operation of VAT in each case. As far as possible, while seeking to avoid duplication, each section stands on its own so that it should be possible to obtain a full briefing on VAT in relation to a particular business by addressing the relevant section. This book is believed to reflect the relevant law and practice as it applied at 31 July 1989. In particular it contains the relevant provisions brought in by the 1989 Finance Act and by Regulations made the following the European Court of Justice decision in June 1989 and the 1989 Budget; as a result chapters 18 and 28 have been completely rewritten and a new Appendix 3 added. Opportunity has also been taken to add substantial new material on penalties in Chapter 8 and on pension schemes in Chapter 23.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 Introduction; taxable persons; taxable transactions; time of supply; valuation of supply; rates of tax; credit for input tax; administration; partial exemption; international services. Part 2 Advertising; architects and surveyors; auctioneers; authors; barristers; bloodstock; catering; civil engineers; clubs, associations and societies; entertainers and sportsmen; estate agents; farmers; financial services; health; hotels and holiday accommodation; insurance; motor industry; property and the construction industry; public houses; retailers and retail schemes; second-hand schemes; solicitors; tour operators.