Question Tag: VAT Grouping

(a). Mr. Joe Mensah, the MD of JoyCo Ltd is required to submit his company’s financial statement for the year 2006 to the Board next Tuesday. One particular item which Mr. Mensah intends to push for Board approval is a declaration of dividends consisting of a capitalization of profits to firm up member’s confidence in the earnings power of their investment in Joyco Ltd.

Mr. Joe Mensah has approached you with this strategy and requires that you advise on the tax concerns and advantages that capitalization of profits could have under the Internal Revenue.

Required:
Please advise Mr. Mensah as required above on this strategy.

(b). At a tax forum organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation, a VAT representative submitted that “because of the right to deduct input VAT, VAT should be neutral for persons subject to VAT. A supplier of goods and services charges output VAT on sales and deducts input VAT on purchases, paying the balance to the VAT Service”

Mr. Anamang strongly objected to this simple statement and proposed a modification to it. He proposed “however, there is often a mismatch between theory and reality. VAT administrations for companies pose grave problems, but there are benefits in a VAT grouping scheme.

Required:
Kindly discuss any four VAT imposed problems that could be eliminated where group members are permitted to report a VAT transaction as a group rather than as a single taxable person.