Spring 2008 Newsletter Content Winter Of Discontent CGT Winners CGT Losers Shifty Business Anything To Declare? Long Arm Of The Law Irreplaceable You Earn As You Pay Ask Questions Later Capital Ideas ISA ISA ISA Referee! Go Green VAT Or No VAT? Taking The Register Close Encounters May Contain Nuts Going Concern Ancient History Business And Pleasure Do Your Duty Know Your Rights Time To Go? Passing The Buck

Close Encounters Zoos which are charities can claim a VAT exemption for their tickets. That means they keep all the admissions income, but they can't claim back VAT on any of the costs relating to the animals - and they may still have to register for the sale of refreshments and souvenirs. A zoo recently argued that the exemption didn't apply to a special extra charge it made for "close encounters" with elephants and giraffes. As a result it could reclaim some of the VAT on the costs of keeping those animals. It had failed in a previous trip to the VAT Tribunal, but this time the zoo won. There are no plans to extend the scheme to lions, tigers, alligators and snakes - except maybe for the next VAT control visit!