On page 44 of CM October 22 in the article
Page 37
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"It pays to understand your tax" by Mr Grimsley, a point was raised which I am at present discussing with my local inspector of taxes on behalf of clients who are hauliers. The dispute centres on the second paragraph of the article and in particular to the one word "'transport".
My clients are hauliers and starers, but they are very much mare removers of furniture rather than starers. Their new extension, only completed at the beginning of this year, provided for garage facilities and also for a certain amount of storage for the goods in transit. After correspondence with the local tax inspector, we accepted that haulage was not a "business" under the relative tax provisions, as in many previous cases, and, in fact, the inspector clearly stated that it was not covered by the particular section which Mr Grimsley mentions: Section 7 of Part 1, Chapter 1 of the C.A.A. 1968.
I would be pleased to have your comments on the interpretation of this expression "transport", since I have no doubt that it would have been given full consideration when writing the article.
AThere is some doubt whether the Revenue treat these industrial building allowances uniformly throughout the country.
If your clients had been primarily storers of furniture, then there would have been no question of claiming the allowances. However. as removals are their chief activity, and storage is merely incidental to the main business, it would appear perfectly reasonable that they should claim the allowances— successfully.
This depends on the wording of 5.7 Part 1 of the Capital Allowances Act 1968 which states that -A transport undertaking" will qualify. Unfortunately it does not go on to define the meaning of the words -transport undertaking", and we have not been able to
trace that they have been defined in any court case.
In consequence one is left with the problem of trying to decide the meaning without the help of an official definition. -Removals" most certainly fits to the ordinary dictionary definition of "transport"; and why should anyone wish to contradict it?