The Gazette 1990

july / augu ST 1990 The Irish Society for European Law Founded in 1973 President: The Hon. Mr. Justice Brian Walsh. Irish Affiliate to the Cheirmen: Mr. Eamonn G. Hall, Solicitor Fédération Internationale Pour le Droit Européen (F.I.D.E.) P R O G R A M ME FOR A U T U M N 1 9 9 0 1. Wednesday, October 17, 1990: Mr. Finbarr Murphy, Barrister, Legal Advisor, Bank of Ireland A past Chairman of the Society -Consumer Policy in the European Communities: Its Effects in Irish Law. 2. Thursday, November 15, 1990: The Hon. Mr. Justice Ronan Keane, Judge of the High Court, President of the Law Reform Commission - Community Law and Irish Law: A Fruitful Tension. 3. Thursday, December 13, 1990 at 6.15p.m. The Annual General Meeting of the Society - To be held in the main Reception room of the European Commission Office, 39, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2. The meeting will be followed by a Wine Reception. Lectures take place at 8.15 pm at the Kildare Street and University Club, 17 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2. By kind permission. Members and their guests are invited to join the Committee and guest speakers for dinner at the Club at 6.15 pm on the evening of each lecture. Members intending to dine must communicate with the Membership Secretary, Jean Fitzpatrick, Solicitor's Office, Telecom Eireann, 52, Harcourt Street, Dublin 2. (Tel: 01-714444 Ext. 5929, Fax: 01-679 3980, Electronic Mail (Eirmail) (Dialcom) 74: EIM076) not later than two days before the dinner, as advance notice must be given to the Club. Membership of the Society is open to lawyers and to others interested in European Law. The current annual subscription is £15.00 (£10.00 for students, barristers and solicitors in the first three years of practice). Membership forms and further details may be obtained from the Membership Secretary.

GAZETTE

THE SOLICITORS BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION C o n c e r t & B u f f e t S u p p e r In aid of the association will be held in the President's Hall, The Law Society, Blackball Place, Dublin 7 on Friday, 12th October, 1990 at 7.30 p.m. GUEST ARTISTS: The Band of An Garda Siochána (By kind permission of Mr. E.C. Crowley, Commissioner) Nanette Ivers: Mezzo Soprano Marie Askin: Pianist Subscription: £25. Tickets: Available from Catharine Kearney, The Law Society. Phone: 710711. Fax: 710704.

quite legitimately. For those who can avoid that capital gains tax the unit trust approach is better since the investments within the funds are not liable to gains tax either and th fund should therefore grow faster than a similar insurance linked fund. Each individual is allowed to make up to £2,000 in capital gains each year - £4,000 for a married couple. With a bit of care the average investor should be able to keep his gains to below that amount. Gains are only made when the investment is actually cashed in or when funds are switched from one fund to another. The trick is not to cash in or switch too many units in any one tax year. The other major difference bet- ween the insurance linked funds and unit trusts concerns confident- iality. The insurance linked funds are confidential. Investment in unit trusts is not. The Revenue Com- missioners can have access to the records of investors in unit trusts. •

But for the most part investors can assume that the investment is costing them an initial five per cent of the sum invested plus a small annual management fee. So ob- viously he or she should be thinking of investing for the medium to long term - say three, or preferably five, years as a minimum. Up until this year's budget the investor is insurance linked funds had to pay a three per cent stamp duty which was not applicable to unit trusts but that anomaly has been ended and the stamp duty now applied to both. But some important tax changes still remain. Gains on the traditional insurance linked funds are not taxable in the hands of the investors but the fund managers do have to pay capital gains tax on their transactions in managing the fund. With unit trusts, the fund managers do not pay any tax but the individual in- vestor may be liable for capital gains tax. But the operative word is "may" for the average investor should be able to avoid the tax

249