A tax assessment comes with three clocks, and none of them is in the calendar.
The assessment arrives on paper or in the electronic mailbox, often on a Friday. Whoever opens it sees the amount and the date, but three deadlines hang on it: the end of the objection period, the due date for the additional payment and the day from which late payment surcharges accrue. Each of these dates is calculated by hand and written into the follow-up diary, if someone remembers to.
4days to deemed serviceThe assessment counts as served on the fourth day after posting, § 122 (2) no. 1 AO, and if that day falls on a weekend, it moves to the next working day.
48assessments a monthThat is how many arrive at a firm with 300 clients and are entered into the follow-up diary by hand.
144dates a monthFor every assessment, the objection deadline, the due date and the start of late payment surcharges have to be calculated, each under its own provision.
1overlooked dateOne is enough: once the one-month period of § 355 AO has expired, the objection is lost and the assessment stands.
With all 144 dates in the follow-up diary, each with its provision and date, missed deadlines fall by 60%.
The 60% reduction in missed deadlines is this agent's headline figure. The number of assessments, and the 144 dates that follow from it, describe a typical month at a firm of this size; they are not counted figures.