Searching for forms to sell Verizon shares cheaply

I read your article last October re the special arrangement being made by the Dublin office of Computershare for small shareholders formerly with Vodafone to cash out. My wife and I, along with shares for our two kids held in my name, fall into that category and would like to sell out.

I know there was a lot of confusion when Verizon was taking over and that is why this is being handled by Dublin now rather than Bristol. Ironically, we had no trouble with the Verizon deal but are having it now.

Briefly, as we have not received the relevant forms to date I rang the Dublin Computershare number. It transpired I was automatically transferred to the Bristol office and the gentleman there had no idea what I was on about. He gave me another Dublin number to ring but this just got me back to Bristol again with the same result.

Like the vast majority of Vodafone smaller shareholders, we do not deal in shares normally and would just like to conclude this before the February deadline. Can you get a contact name or number in Dublin for someone in Computershare who handles these forms please? As I can lay my hands on only three of the four SRNs, I need to talk to somebody.

Mr D.M., email

As you say, special arrangements are being made to allow holders of a handful of Verizon shares offload that stake without incurring excessive charges. The stimulus for this programme is the plan to move management of the Verizon shares to the US, which would leave small Irish shareholders facing both increased bureaucracy – and the need to fill out forms for the US tax authorities – and cost, including the hassle of dealing in dollars, which is not ideal at current exchange rates.

The low cost dealing service – charging 0.5 per cent of the value of the transaction with a minimum of €17 – is operating from November 10th last until February 17th, 2016.

Computershare estimates that around 202,000 Irish people have Verizon shares.

Of these, around 145,000 own fewer than 10 shares in the US company – in fact, 47,821 investors hold just one share. You can see the sense in getting it sorted – and possibly the difficulty too.

In your case, the issue appears to be that you have changed address in recent years. It is more than likely that Computershare is writing to your old address and there is no reason to believe anyone there would forward that mail.

With the wrong address information on Computershare’s file and one missing shareholder reference number (SRN), you certainly do need to get in touch with them.

Computershare have given me a helpline number – not either of the two you have previously called – and insists that everyone in their call centre is briefed on the Verizon deal and that army of Irish shareholders.

The number is a Dublin number 01 6968421 but – with the miracles of modern telecommunications – it will patch you straight through to the call centre at Computershare’s Bristol operation.

If you give them a shout, they should have your correct address for a reminder mailing they are scheduled to send out on January 14th – and they can also tell you how to go about sorting your missing SRN.

The reminder mailshot should include a business reply envelope to take up the low cost offer and it will have a Dublin address to try and avoid whatever glitches occurred last time around.

On a final point, before Verizon gets on to me, the issues that arose at the time of the Verizon deal had nothing to do with Verizon directly but rather with issues some people had in getting letters with their stated preferences through to Computershare in Bristol by the deadline. No clear reason was ever discovered.

Can capital losses be offset against exit tax? An investment project will be wound up in 2016 resulting in a capital loss to the investors. I also have monies in insurance companies funds on which exit tax has been/ is being deducted. Can the capital losses be offset against exit tax?

Mr.J.T.,Dublin

No, it cannot. The only gain against which you can offset capital losses is a capital gain – i.e. one subject to capital gains tax. If you have no loss arising next year against which you can offset your loss – assuming it materialises – you will be able to offset it against future gains.

You will not be allowed to backdate it against past gains on which you have already paid tax.

Exit tax is an entirely different creature – a tax on investment growth rather than capital gains. I realise it can look like much the same thing and certainly that is its effect on the bottom line of your personal finances but they are not interchangeable, at least for tax purposes.

Exit tax came in in 2001 when Revenue agreed not to tax the investment income accruing to investment funds on an annual basis. In return for allowing the fund to continue to grow by reinvesting those gains – gross roll-up – the Revenue introduced instead an exit charge levied at the basic rate of tax plus three percentage points.

It is levied either when you cash in your investment or on the eighth anniversary of the investment – the Revenue is happy to let you benefit from your investment but not on an open-ended basis and the eight-year rule came in due to fears that some wealthier individuals might roll over their funds indefinitely so that tax was never paid.

Send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, or email dcoyle@irishtimes.com. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice.