Free Business Essays - When did you last consider a Tax Appeal?
Once you have been in Ireland for more than 183 days a year, you are considered a resident and the law requires that your earnings be taxed. Tax levies are necessary for the economic wealth and stability of any law abiding state; whether it be value added tax (VAT), inheritance tax, corporation tax or income tax; but it is often weighted heaviest on personal incomes – and for some distressing reasons Ireland has been the most unfortunate bearer of this burden in the UK; save for those individuals who were not domiciled – but now that 2006 is here, not even these individuals can expect to be spared under this new budget, now that the remittance basis for employment income, has been ceased. Consequently, there will be more grievances concerning income tax and what is better to do about it than to consider a tax appeal.
According to the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) in a 2004 newsletter it published, it clearly outlines what you can appeal against and where you can appeal. For instance it states that persons can appeal against the following: -
à Assessment of income tax liability;
à Pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) coding notices;
à Self assessments;
à National Insurance (NI) contributions;
à Employment status (for instance whether or not you are self-employed or employed);
à Student loan repayments; and even the
à Notice of assessments – just to name a few.
Once you have decided upon what grounds you would like to appeal, your next step would be to write a letter to the Inland Revenue, using the address on the notice you have received from it – while being mindful to state your grievance, NI number and all other information which identifies both you and the document in question that you are appealing. A heedful reminder to note here is that a person only has 30 days from the date on the notice received to take action – so be mindful of the date when reading your notice. A tax appeal case is generally judged by one of two bodies: The General Commission or the Special Commission, the sine qua non here being that both the commissions are impartial tribunals waiting to assess each case.
Even though in your appeal submission you have to request which body you desire to hear your case, the extent to which a case is convoluted ultimately determines which tribunal will sit on it. Appeals are typically heard by the General Commission unless it is extensive in which case it is directed to the Special Commission but this only happens after the Inland Revenue has attempted to resolve the issues of the appeal without resolution; or even during negotiations if you desire to carry your plea straight to a tribunal – in which case you simply contact the corresponding clerk to request a hearing.
If you have asked for a postponement of your NI contributions in your letter then it is not necessary for you to make these payments. It is also important that you realise you can withdraw your appeal, again by writing to the Inland Revenue; but keep in mind they do have the power to deny withdrawals. For your benefit it is also recommended that you go to your hearing – what better advocate do you have than yourself? However should you desire to have someone else represent you, you can endorse that person but chances are if he or she is not a lawyer or accountant their representation may be dismissed. Concessions are also made for people with disabilities and special needs.
Once your appeal hearing has been concluded comes the part you have been anxiously awaiting – your verdict. So what happens if you have lost your appeal? Well in short you have two options; there is the decision to request a review from the tribunal, or you can appeal against the decision to the High Court (in Northern Ireland it would be to the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal). A review can be requested under the following conditions – once you can convince the commissions that:
à Pertinent information which was sent before the hearing did not manifest until after the hearing;
à The decision made is wrong because of an administrative error; or
à You have a good reason for being unrepresented at your appeal hearing.
Note well that at this point in time you only have 14 days to request this review from the date on your notice. The tribunal has the power to uphold their decision or pass a new ruling.
In extreme cases you can appeal the tribunal’s decision by taking your case to the High Court (or the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal); it is highly recommended to seek professional advice from a lawyer if you so choose to go this way – since you must be able to prove that the tribunal’s decision was wrong either because it misinterpreted the law or did not adhere to the rules of natural justice, e.g. bias or prejudice. This excerpt from the Taxes Management Act 1970, Part V, S.56 (6) – (7) clearly says:
(6) “The High Court shall hear and determine any question or questions of law arising on the case, and shall reverse, affirm or amend the determination in respect of which the case has been stated, or shall remit the matter to the Commissioners with the opinion of the Court thereon, or may make such other order in relation to the matters as to the Court may seem fit.
(7) The High Court may cause the case to be sent back for amendment, and thereupon the case shall be amended accordingly, and judgment shall be delivered after it has been amended.”
There is however one small catch – should you win, the High Court can award the costs from the Inland Revenue to you; unfortunately should you lose the High Court may seek to recover the costs from you.
So now you know the process and the main procedures involved in making an appeal. First it is imperative that you make your request known to the Inland Revenue in writing; from that point you can wait for your ruling from the Inland Revenue or you can take your appeal to the General or Special Commission – depending on the complexity of your situation. If after this ruling you still are not satisfied, you have the option of requesting a review from the Inland Revenue or General or Special Commission but you only have 14 days from the day on your notice and you must be able to satisfy them, that an appeal is necessary. If however you can prove a misrepresentation of the law then by all means you can take your request to the High Court; but keep in mind that you must notify the Inland Revenue first, just as in the first appeal. This is where the ruling will either be upheld or thrown out for good. Finally you need to know what fees are involved if any, what documents may be necessary for you to bring or fill out and where to send your request.
For further information all you need to do is to call or visit your local Inland Revenue office. If you would like to appeal the Special Commission’s ruling, you can call the Lists General Office/ Appeals Office at 020 7947 7354. Now that you have been equipped with all the right information it is up to you to decide what to do about your grievance and where to go when. So when you are doing taxes this year remember that there are provisions for you to appeal your taxes.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Department for Constitutional Affairs (2004) Tax Appeals: A guide to appealing against decisions of the Inland Revenue on tax and other matters. NSV Code R2P 3312
Hardiman, N. (2000) Taxing the Poor: The Politics of Income Taxation in Ireland, Policy Studies Journal, Vol. 28.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (2005) Budget Highlights 2006
Taxes Management Act 1970, Part V, S.56 (6) – (7)
The General Commissioners (Jurisdiction and Procedure) Regulations 1994 (Statutory Instrument 1994 No. 1812)
The Special Commissioners (Jurisdiction and Procedure) Regulations 1994 (Statutory Instrument 1994 No. 1811)
Websites
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/tax-appeals.pdf 23/01/06
http://www.taxworld.ie/booklet/it.htm 23/01/06
http://www.questia.com 24/01/06
