Hector, the UK Inland Revenue's cartoon tax-man, is about to go into overdrive with the start of an advertising blitz aimed at persuading people to fill in their self-assessment forms.
The first deadline for the return of forms in Northern Ireland is September 30th. The September date is the last for anyone who wants the tax-man to calculate their bill, while those who want to do the calculations themselves have until January 31st, 1998.
Despite having little more than a month to go until the deadline, the Inland Revenue insisted progress was ahead of predictions.
Self-assessment is the biggest change to the taxation system for decades. It affects eight million people throughout the UK, all of whom were sent one of the new-look tax returns in April.
It is designed to provide a simpler and clearer way of calculating and paying tax.
The Inland Revenue set aside a maximum of £25 million sterling for advertising and promoting the new system. "What we are saying is that now is the time to get on with it," said a spokesman.
