Written by: Andrew Goodall, CTA

The authors have not skimped on quality or relevance in this book and have managed to cover all the capital gains reliefs and exemptions that apply to individuals and trustees, with a brief summary of those that apply to companies, in just 370 pages. In fact the book works well as part of the set because it cross refers to the other annuals where the particular topic may be more extensively covered in those books.

As each topic is introduced its potential areas of application are summarised. Each point is then explained with examples and with many cross references to the HMRC manuals. These references are immensely helpful as trying to search for a topic on the HMRC website can be a frustrating experience.

Capital gains tax has been the subject of much fiddling over the years, which can make the computation of gains that have accumulated over a long period very complex. This book assumes the transaction under review occurred in 2005/06 or 2006/07 and gives the reader clear guidance to the previous rules that must be considered. If you need to calculate the tax due from a transaction that happened earlier than 6 April 2005, you should refer to an annual produced for that particular tax year.

Review by: Rebecca Cave, Taxwriter Ltd

The Tottel book, although only marginally longer than CCH's at 398 pages plus 25 preliminary pages, was much more detailed, but remained easy to read. A colleague who has only been in tax for 12 months found the book easy to use. The contents list went much further than merely listing the chapters, subdividing each into sections, which can be helpful. If I am to be picky, the book includes capital gains planning, but this chapter is rather bizarrely located in the middle of the book, when logic dictates that it should perhaps be set at the end. Planning points raised are pretty basic, e.g. transferring assets between spouses, taper relief and losses, but should be a useful memory jogger for practitioners who are not experienced in capital gains planning.

Possibly because Tottel's publication date appears to have been later than the others, this was the only book to refer to the 2006 case of Henke and another v HMRC which related to land owned for some time prior to having the main residence built on it. As this type of scenario is becoming more commonplace, it strikes me that this is going to become an important reference point and Tottel are 12 months ahead of the competition.

In all, the Tottel annual was an impressive mix of simplicity and detail, which could be used alongside the legislation for comprehensive coverage and at £20 is by far the best value of the three. For that reason I can see the Tottel series being a favourite with those studying for ATT and CTA.

What would be my ideal book? CCH's cross reference summary and Tottel's clear language combined with Tolley's comprehensive coverage.

Review by: Paula Sparrow, Wise & Co, Taxation Magazine 19 April 2007

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