Bring on The Strippers

Those in charge of HMRC and the Treasury may well be advised to make the most of their remaining time in orifice. On the assumption that Brown and his mob get kicked out at the next election, there will be some changes in the upper echelons.

The shadow chancellor, George Osborne, recently stated in the FT that the Treasury would undergo a major restructuring of its "rather dysfunctional" operations.

Osborne has quite rightly identified that the Treasury became an "imperial power base" for Gordon Brown during his ten year chancellorship, which allowed him to block any policy initiatives coming from Number 10. This of course meant that "the Treasury itself became a rather dysfunctional organisation".

One key change that Osborne would enact would be to strip the administration of tax credits and child benefit from HMRC, and move it to the Department for Work and Pensions.

For why?

"The DWP is better than the HMRC at understanding the pressures involved...I don't think HMRC are used to people who can run out of money on a weekly basis."

In other words, HMRC doesn't know what it is doing nor how to interact with human beings. This should come as no surprise to those who interact with HMRC wrt tax credits.

Osborne said:

"There is a strong argument for removing the delivery function of tax credits, child benefit and child trust funds, and putting them with the Department for Work and Pensions."

He noted, what has already been stated on this site before, that the Treasury because it administers tax credits had been robbed it of its status as "the one department making sure money is well spent across Whitehall"; ie there is no oversight.

Make no mistake, the Treasury and HMRC will be stripped of their power.

Tax does have to be taxing.

The New Statesman, Britain's leading political magazine is delighted to announce that HMRC Is Shite has been nominated for a New Media Award in the category of Campaign For Change. The campaign for change award will go to the individual or organisation that has most effectively influenced opinions and behaviour through the use of new media technology. The winner of this award will champion a cause and provide information and tools to instigate change.

The full press release can be downloaded here.

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