Sir, - Colm Rapple's response (December 4th) to my query of his use of statistics on self-employed incomes misinterprets the basis of revenue statistics on the self-employed.
Many of the self-employed taxpayers that he mentions, such as publicans, estate agents, insurance brokers and retailers, trade as limited companies. Many professional people also now trade as limited companies. The profits of those companies are included in the Corporation Tax statistics and not in the self-employed statistics. It is only the salaries paid by those companies to the proprietors that are included in the self-employed statistics.
Contrary to Mr Rapple's assertions, the self-employed income statistics are not overstated due to capital allowances and business interest being tax deductible from those figures. Capital allowances simply replace the depreciation expenses added back to taxable profits in the tax computations involved. The incomes are also stated in the Revenue statistics after deducting business interest incurred in the normal course of business. - Yours, etc.,
Des Peelo, Upper Grand Canal Street, Dublin 4.