IFM14294 - Tax vouchers: alternative rules for providing tax information to recipients

Regulation 21(2) SI2009/2034 allows an investment trust (IT) or prospective investment trust (IT) to make the information that would otherwise be shown on a tax voucher by alternative methods as follows –

• providing details to allow the recipient to access an electronic means of calculating the amounts that would be shown in a written statement (tax voucher); or
• providing the recipient with an alternative method of obtaining the details of those amounts without recourse to electronic means.

The regulations are not prescriptive about the format as regards ‘electronic means’ but an example of fulfilling this requirement would be where investors were directed to the IT or PIT’s website and a web calculator, which on inputting the generic information, would calculate the amount of the dividend and / or interest paid.

Provision of an ‘alternative method’ of accessing information for investors is not prescribed for in the regulations but an example of satisfying this alternative method might be a customer information telephone line where this additional information was sent in writing on request.

Investors should keep the generic information sent to them (either by post or electronically) or a print out of the information accessed electronically or information gained by alternative means.