Dominic Coyle answers your questions.

Book entry

What is meant by "book entry shares"? It seems I have these but I have no share certificate. Are these book entry shares saleable?

C.R., Dublin

If you have "book entry" shares, they are almost certainly shares in companies that are listed outside Ireland - probably in the United States or, possibly, Germany.

Book entry is a term to describe Direct Registration System.

A book entry share is a stock that you own but for which you do not hold a share certificate, so it is no surprise that you have not received certificates for these holdings.

The shares are held by the company registrar but, importantly, they are in your name.

From an investor perspective, the vital thing is that your rights in relation to book entry shares is precisely the same as for shares held in certificated form.

You receive dividends and company information. In this regard, book entry shares are very different from nominee accounts - electronically held by your broker but not in your name.

As with other forms of electronic shareholding, you can buy and sell the shares you hold as you wish. However, given that book entry shares are held by a registrar and not by your broker, you cannot instruct the sale of book entry shares at a precise price or date.

The shares have to be electronically passed from the registrar to your broker first before being sold at the best price available at the time. The price you receive will generally be the average price of all shares sold in that company by your registrar on that day.

Some companies will allow you to request paper certificates for your book entry holdings but, increasingly, this is not an option as more and more companies move to "dematerialisation" - the elimination of paper share certificates.

Tax refund

Before the end of January, I paid capital gains tax I calculated as due for the latter period of 2008. I sent a cheque for the amount due to Collector General.

I received an acknowledgment of receipt of my payment from the Collector General (including a receipt number).

Last week I received from the Collector General a cheque for the full amount of the CGT I had paid in January 2008! This repayment has me puzzled. In law, should I contact the Collector General or tax office about it, or wait until they come looking for it again.

If I hold it for now, can I be subject to penalty as I did pay the CGT before the due date? Morally, I do not think I am entitled to any refund.

Ms M.O'R., e-mail

The law, as you know, is often uncertain until it is tested and I am not aware of a case precisely along the lines you suggest. However, there is a general principle that it is the responsibility of the taxpayer to ensure their tax affairs are in order. That's why people caught out tend to face penalties on top of interest payments. As you say, you have acted properly and have a receipt to confirm that you did act in accordance with the rules.

You can be certain, for what it's worth, that the Revenue will have a receipt for its refund.

I think in this situation you need to act pragmatically. If you have a liability, you will ultimately have to pay it and, if it is preying on your mind - as it clearly is - you will not rest easy until it is sorted.

I suggest you contact the Revenue and work through the sequence. Perhaps, you are entitled to that refund and they can explain how, putting your mind at rest.

Dirt rules

When it comes to Dirt, are the rules different for credit union accounts? The following is a summary of information issued by my credit union: "Under the 2001 Finance Act, the credit union will deduct Dirt and payment is made by the credit union to Revenue on a no-named basis. You have no further liability to tax on the dividend and you are not required to make any declaration to Revenue."

I would be obliged if you could clarify if that information is still valid.

Mr P.D., Dublin

The one thing you can be sure of with the Irish tax code is that there will never be uniformity . . . and then politicians and the Revenue wonder why so much effort is taken availing of, or closing, loopholes.

You are quite right when you state that, in relation to deposit interest retention tax (Dirt), credit unions receive favourable treatment. Credit union holders of a special share account receive dividends net of Dirt.

The Revenue assures me that this satisfies in full any tax liability in respect of the dividend payment. The credit union returns the Dirt to the Collector General.

The individual credit union member does not need to make a return unless they or their spouse are looking for a refund of Dirt.

Of course, if you hold an ordinary share account with the credit union where dividends are credited to the account without deduction of Dirt, you are required to return details of the dividend in the annual tax return and are liable to tax at the marginal rate.