Accountants will be aware that all businesses, whether incorporated or otherwise, are being required by Revenue to complete the accounts menus in the 2006 statutory returns. Before now, a turnover threshold of €20m, determined on a group basis, applied. Businesses with turnovers exceeding that threshold were required to submit accounts in the normal fashion.

ICAI has met with Revenue to discuss this change in procedure, and to point out the extent to which it represents an additional compliance burden without any commercial benefit to the taxpayer. We have argued that the accounts menus are unsatisfactory for larger businesses, and that the use of the accounts menus be optional at least for the first year of proposed operation, so that practical problems could be identified and resolved for later years.

Revenue's current position is that:

• Larger businesses will only be required to complete a minimum of six items on the accounts menus.
• All LCD cases will still be required to submit accounts, as well as completing the menus.
• A selected number of other taxpayers will be asked to submit accounts on a case by case basis.

We have already received comments from members regarding this issue which we have relayed to Revenue. Any additional views you might have are welcome, and should be relayed to Brian Keegan, Director of Taxation (brian.keegan@icai.ie) or Mary O'Brien, Senior Tax Manager (mary.obrien@icai.ie) at the Institute.