Solicitors in serious financial difficulties who owe tax should approach the Inland Revenue early to avoid bankruptcy proceedings, a senior Revenue manager told the profession last week.

Dick Ivory, head of the Inland Revenue voluntary arrangement service, told lawyers at the Solicitors Assistance Scheme's annual conference that negotiating repayment deals with debtors is far more efficient for the Revenue than issuing formal court proceedings.

Under the voluntary arrangement service, individuals who have failed to pay tax for legitimate reasons, such as business difficulties, can agree a monthly repayment sum taking into account their expenses.

Mr Ivory said the scheme is equally available to solicitors as to other individuals - although he would be less likely to accept ignorance as a legitimate reason for failure to pay tax where the legal profession is concerned.

He said: 'If solicitors owe money to the Crown, they should talk to us as soon as possible.

We will offer support to the genuine debtor with genuine problems.

The Solicitors Assistance Scheme does a lot of good work supporting solicitors in this situation.

If a solicitor gets themselves into a mess, then provided there is a good reason, they will also get support from us.

The best advice is to come to us early.'

The scheme requires full disclosure of the reason for the debt and an explanation of how the problem has been addressed.

Repayments are designed to be stretching but achievable.

Mr Ivory said he would allow for one holiday per year, but that he would not normally reduce payments to take private school fees into account.

Rachell Rothwell