Atalian Servest Acquires Another HMRC Contract

Atalian Servest has been awarded its fourth contract with HMRC in less than 18 months.

The global service provider has been providing cleaning, catering and security at HMRC’s Newcastle office since May 2018.

The latest deal adds another 14 sites to the company’s existing partnership with HMRC.

Services to the new sites will include cleaning, catering, reception, waste management, grounds maintenance, pest control, portering and mail. The company will deploy approximately 250 staff at the additional sites.


Daniel Dickson, CEO of Atalian Servest UK & Ireland, is quoted by FMJ:  

“The opportunity to provide services for even more HMRC sites demonstrates the strength of the partnership we are building. HMRC is on a journey to transform the way the organisation and its people work. With our excellent track record in corporate services and contract innovation, Atalian Servest is perfectly positioned to help the organisation achieve these bold objectives.”

Tax does have to be taxing.

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HMRC Out of Step With Credit Card Ban

HMRC has been accused of being ‘out of step’ with other large commercial organisations over its ban on the use of credit cards by individuals to pay their tax bills, leaving some unable to pay and facing penalties

This decision taken two years ago gives rise to particularly acute problems at this time of the year, as self assessment taxpayers normally have to pay around half their tax bill for the year by 31 January, says UHY Hacker Young.

Clive Gawthorpe, partner at UHY Hacker Young, said:

‘HMRC wants to be more customer focused so refusing to accept credit cards just seems remarkably unhelpful and anachronistic. The rule can lead to big financial penalties for taxpayers who are already struggling.

With so many other organisations like budget airlines now accepting credit cards without any charges it does make this policy from HMRC look out of step.’

Such a pity he used the word "customer"!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Sunak's Light IR35 Touch

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has bowed to industry pressure over IR35 tax changes by promising enforcement will not be “heavy-handed”.

He is quoted by CityAM:

“I’ve spent time with HMRC to ensure they are not going to be at all heavy handed for the first year to give people time to adjust as well which I think is an appropriate and fair thing to do."

No worries then!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Harra Lives In The Clouds

Jim Harra has published his assessment summary of HMRC's "Securing Our Technical Future" programme, backing up an earlier conclusion by the department’s former accounting office Sir Jonathan Thompson that the programme will provide value for money and is deliverable.

The programme involves migrating from existing data centres to cloud based hosting or the Crown Hosting service, along with a review of any vulnerabilities in the legacy IT estate of more than 600 services.

Harra says this is costly to run and lacks agility, and that the new programme will enable HMRC to generate more cost-effective arrangements with suppliers and give itself a more resilient and flexible infrastructure.

He added that there is no requirement for any legislative or regulatory change to make it happen, and that the programme takes in effective controls to protect data from customers and other government departments.

The assessment acknowledges that there will be challenges but says the programme has already passed several milestones successfully, including an independent assurance review and HM Treasury approval of the business case. Further Treasury approvals are planned as the programme progresses.

Harra also says that if any of the main factors change he will produce a revised summary.

Sorted!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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HMRC Call Waiting Times Soar

The Telegraph reports that taxpayers turning to HMRC for help with their tax affairs are hanging up before even getting through on the phone, as call waiting times have surged.


For the first time in years, HMRC exceeded its average five-minute waiting time per call target in 2019, the latest figures to the end of December, released this month, showed.

The average length of time taxpayers had to wait on the phone before being able to speak to an adviser increased by almost 40pc compared to the previous year and by more than 50pc when compared with 2017. On average, taxpayers waited six and a half minutes to get through on the phone in 2019, but others waited far longer.

Nearly 30pc of callers were left on hold for more than 10 minutes last year, a massive increase on the previous year, when just 17pc of callers were left waiting for 10 minutes or more.

Close to four million people hung up the phone while on hold and did not call back over the past nine months, according to the official figures.

An HMRC spokesperson said:

“We are very sorry that some of our customers have waited too long to get through to our helplines over the last year. We’ve taken steps to improve our service and our average waiting times are currently around our five-minute target.

We’ve introduced a range of popular digital services like web-chat and online tax accounts so more customers are getting what they need without having to call us. But we know that some customers want to talk to us directly and we’re doing all we can to keep all waiting times as low as possible.”

HMRC really doesn't want to interact with taxpayers directly.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Freelancers Suffer Mental Health Problems Because of IR35 Changes

As per The Telegraph:

"Freelancers are close to having nervous breakdowns and some are considering suicide over tax rule changes that have inadvertently left them struggling to make ends meet. 

Almost a third of self-employed contractors are experiencing anxiety or suicidal thoughts due to the impact of the impending reforms coming into force in April, according to a study by tax firm InniAccounts.

Tax rules for off-payroll workers, also known as “IR35”, have been in place since 2000. Currently, contractors assess their own tax status, but April's reforms will shift this responsibility to businesses.

The regime change is designed to stop “disguised employees” gaming the system, working in a permanent position in a company without paying the same income tax or National Insurance as normal workers.

However, scores of innocent freelancers have been caught out, as large businesses have decided to stop working with contractors altogether, for fear of getting into a dispute with the tax authority. 

It means many have been left out of work for months, or told they can only continue working if they are paid the same as everyone else, meaning higher taxes, less take-home pay and all without the benefits like sick pay and annual leave permanent staff enjoy. 

Telegraph Money spoke to some of those struggling to cope. They asked for their full names to be withheld. 

Ronald, 53, has been contracting for nine years as a software developer, working for banks, insurers and other financial institutions, but suddenly found himself out of work for five months after taking a two-week holiday last summer. 

He said he was heading for a “mental breakdown” and was prescribed antidepressants by his GP to help him cope with his anxiety.

“I was crawling the walls at home. I feel useless if I’m not doing anything and I have never been out of work that long in my life,” he said. 

He took on a new contract in November with a smaller firm, which does not have to comply with the new rules, although he has accepted a significant pay cut and now faces a two-hour commute. 

“The bigger firms just aren’t hiring anymore. Being out of work has depleted my savings and now I am living pay cheque to pay cheque. If I can’t get back to earning close to what I was before, I will end up defaulting on my mortgage. I feel like my career is coming to an end,” he said. 

Mark, aged 41, has worked freelance in cyber security for banks, insurers and in the public sector for six years, but has not been able to find any new work since December. 

He said his doctor had prescribed him beta blockers for his stress, anxiety and panic attacks. He uses the text messaging charity service Shout for support when he feels lowest.

“I still cry a lot and have two young children to provide for. Unless businesses start changing their approach, I will have to go back to full-time employment,” he added. 

Elise, 49, who has Asperger's syndrome, is also having to face the prospect of returning to working in an office full-time. 

“Because of my condition, this would be impossible for me. I’d inevitably have to commute to London, where all the jobs are. This means big crowds, more social interaction and office politics, which I cannot deal with, and it’s a cause of huge anxiety.

“I’ve been a freelancer working in IT since 1999 and have been able to work from home and make a living in spite of the disorder,” she said. 

She added that she has no work lined up for the new tax year and, with the only other option to return to full-time employment, she would either downsize and live off working smaller jobs or move to France to continue working there. 

A spokesman for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said it had policies in place to provide extra help with people finding dealing with their tax affairs stressful. 

“The off-payroll reforms don’t stop people working through their own companies; they help ensure the right tax is paid. They ensure consistency in the administration of the off-payroll working rules across all sectors. We don’t want to penalise anyone, just help them get the tax right,” they said.  

It follows HMRC’s controversial “loan charge”, which sought to recover back taxes for tax avoidance schemes once considered legal and promoted by respectable firms. Campaigners say as many as seven affected individuals facing thousands in disputed tax bills have taken their own lives over the policy.

The April IR35 changes are now the subject of a review by HM Treasury, looking at how to smooth the transition to the new system, which is expected to conclude at the end of the month.  "

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Having a Solar Protect Tax Investigation Insurance policy at your disposal means that should you be one of the many 1000's of businesses or individuals that are selected by HMRC each year to look into your tax affairs your own accountant (your tax return agent) can get on and defend you robustly.

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Please click here for details.

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"