The American Way

Patrick Collinson of The Guardian tells us how the IRS (the US version of HMRC) run their call centres:

"A baffled reader this week asked for help filling in tax forms for the US Inland Revenue Service. Not being familiar with apostilles, notarizing and (fortunately, I feel) alien spouses, I was as baffled as him by the baroque language. The form is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act, but in a triumph for bureaucracy you find separate information about this … on another piece of paperwork.

I gingerly rang the IRS helpline in Philadelphia. In the city of brotherly love, things started to improve. The helpline is staffed 20 hours a day, compared with HMRC's 12 hours a day.

My call was answered after just a few rings. And the (very helpful) individual who answered the phone immediately gave me his name and unique identification number.

The Americans could learn a thing or two from us about the use of plain English, but can teach us about running a call centre."

Whilst keeping HMRC call centres open for longer would cost more money, something which the government has run out of, I don't see why call centre staff cannot give taxpayers (sorry, "customers") a unique identification number.

Why can't that be done?

Tax does have to be taxing.

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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"

Wise Words!

Wise words indeed (source The Telegraph):

Whiting is also unhappy about the way the boundaries between evasion and avoidance have almost disappeared in the eyes of the tax authorities.

"People have lost sight of the fact that evaders are criminal. Avoiders are people in the main who are compliant.

It's curious that avoidance has become vilified."

Tax does have to be taxing.

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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"

Power Corrupts

In a few weeks time the Finance Bill will grant HMRC new powers to be able to access individual's salaries and deduct up to £2K per annum, in order to recover underpaid tax.

Until now HMRC had to obtain taxpayers' consent, or a court order, before it could do this.

As Roy Maugham, a tax partner at UHY Hacker Young, points out other creditors can't deduct money from people's salaries in this manner, why should HMRC be granted such powers?

"After mortgage payments, food and energy bills, a lot of taxpayers have little left over every month. What's going to stop HMRC making deductions from taxpayers' salaries that leave them unable to pay utility bills or service other creditors? Other creditors can't just deduct money from people's salaries on a whim.

When you think of the administrative errors that led to millions in tax credits being paid incorrectly, you have to wonder whether there ought to be stronger safeguards before HMRC is granted unfettered access to taxpayers' paycheques."

Power corrupts.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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"

Pride

I must admit that until now, I assumed that tax affected all of us (apart from MPs) more or less in the same way irrespective of race, creed, orientation and gender.

Seemingly this assumption was wrong, as HMRC have just published a 20 page booklet aimed at "our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender customers".

Quote:

"We want to be fully inclusive and we have a range of diversity networks – open to all staff, covering Race, Religion or Belief, Disability, Age, Carers, Gender, Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual and, because we recognise that gender identity is different to sexual orientation, we're the only government department to give transgender people a voice with their own network."

Whilst there are specifics wrt eg same sex partnerships and pension issues wrt sex changes that should be clearly communicated/disseminated, I do wonder whether these points necessitated the publication of such a booklet (complete with glossy photos).

More specifically what has the chapter about "Diversity in HMRC" got to do with the tax issues facing specific sections of the community?

Anyhoo, the booklet will be distributed, not at a taxation event or gathering of tax advisers, but at Pride London (where people gather with the specific objective of discussing tax!).

Those of you who can't attend Pride, can download it here Pride.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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"

Free Advice To MPs

Taking pity on all those MPs who find their perfectly legal tax avoidance house flipping schemes under intense public scrutiny, I have sourced an article on Citywire that shows them how to avoid stamp duty on property purchases.

Well worth our impoverished MPs taking a look at:)

The article can be viewed here Citywire

Tax does have to be taxing.

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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"

Scam Alert

I may be 100% wrong, but I have a "gut feeling" that this email that I have just received (see below) is in fact a scam;)

HM Revenue & Customs
Crownhill Court
Tailyour Road
Plymouth
PL6 5BZ

http://www.hmrc.co.uk/

Dear Applicant,

We are pleased to notify you of the result of the HM Revenue & Customs program held on the 15TH June 2009.You have therefore been approved for a sum payment of 168,240.00 GBP only, payable in Lloyds TSB cashiers check credited to security credited file numbers GWK/558B/5355/UAD in the United Kingdom.

Due to the security, we ask that you keep all information confidential until your claim will be processed and your money remitted to you.

THIS IS PART OF OUR SECURITY PROTOCOLS TO AVOID UNWARRANTED ABUSE OF THIS PROGRAM BY SOME UNKNOWN PARTICIPANTS.

Complete and print the form attached and send to info@lloydstsbprize.com and allow us 3-9 business days in order to process it.

Lloyds TSB BANKUnited KingdomAccount ManagerMs. Kelly Campbellinfo@lloydstsbprize.com0945 100 9005 Your tax file number (TFN): 8 2 1 0 8 4 4 7 9

This will enable the office to verify your claim.

Regards,

HM Revenue & Customs
Crownhill Court
Tailyour Road
Plymouth
PL6 5BZ

http://www.hmrc.co.uk/

Tax does have to be taxing.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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"

Everything is Tickedy Boo

In response to criticisms that its service levels are declining, HMRC stated that its quality monitoring "demonstrated that performance had not been adversely affected, and that in some areas, performance had improved substantially".

HMRC went on to say that its drive for greater efficiency was being achieved by "modernising and re-engineering work processes, cutting out waste and enhancing leadership performance".

Clearly the ICAEW poll of tax advisers, which concluded that 6 out of 10 tax advisers said they had spent more time and money dealing with HMRC service problems over the past year, must be wrong then.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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"

IT Upgrade

Director of Finance writes that HMRC will be implementing a much needed major IT upgrade, which will create one single record of an individual's PAYE pay and tax and National Insurance details.

There will be a temporary period of planned service interruption from 12 June 2009.

Fingers crossed it goes according to plan, as all IT upgrades (in both the private and public sectors) always do.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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"

Tax Investigation for Dummies

Tax Investigation for Dummies provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to find out more: Tax Investigation for Dummies

Tax does have to be taxing.

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"

Tax Avoidance - MPs Only

The message that ZaNuLabour and various senior members of HMRC have been broadcasting is that tax avoidance (whilst not being illegal) is not OK in their eyes, and that they will move heaven and earth to stamp it out.

Why then did Shaun Woodward (cabinet member) choose to avoid paying capital gains of up to £1.5M?

Is this not a tad hypocritical?

The real message is that tax avoidance is OK if you are a member of the government, but not OK for anyone else.

Here's what Shaun did:

Source The Times.

SHAUN WOODWARD, the richest member of the cabinet, avoided a capital gains tax bill of up to £1.5m on one of his London homes, which he sold to Sting, the singer.

Woodward, the Northern Ireland secretary, who has a portfolio of properties stretching from London to the Caribbean, sold the townhouse in May 2003 for £5.7m.

He told the taxman this was his main home — and thus avoided a hefty tax on the sale.Capital gains tax (CGT) is imposed on second homes.

However, in 2001 he said that his family were based in Oxfordshire, where his children were schooled. All available records of his Commons claims also indicate that he was based in Oxfordshire.

Others have “flipped” their claims from one home to another, to maximise their allowances by ensuring their second home is the one needing the most maintenance or the highest mortgage payments. Woodward, who has a grace and favour residence at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland has claimed more than £138,000 in MPs’ housing expenses since 2001. He last night issued a categorical denial that he had flipped his home or set out to avoid tax.

He also said that, far from saving himself money by avoiding capital gains tax, he lost money in the longer term when he sold off another, more valuable, property three years later.

He said he had to pay more capital gains tax when he sold off Sarsden House, a grade II-listed mansion set in 458 acres of Oxfordshire countryside. It went for approximately £25m in May 2006.

However, although questions were submitted to him by The Sunday Times last Wednesday afternoon, he failed to clarify whether he declared different “main” residences to the taxman and the Commons authorities in May 2003.

In a statement issued at 4.19pm on Saturday he strongly denied that his arrangements were an attempt to avoid capital gains tax and said there was no “inappropriate personal gain”.

He conceded in a statement that the Westminster townhouse was exempt from CGT. However, he said the sale of Sarsden was subject to CGT.

He provided a letter from the accountants Horwath Clark Whitehill which said: “Your tax liability would have been dramatically lower had you made different arrangements because the greater liability arises from the sale of Sarsden.”

However, he failed to disclose which specific property he was claiming Commons allowances on during this period, saying that he was having trouble finding the records.

Woodward, who once worked as a researcher on Esther Rantzen’s BBC television show That’s Life!, is regarded by many MPs with a mixture of suspicion and envy. He is married to the supermarket heiress Camilla Sainsbury and defected from the Tories to Labour in 1999.

Two years later, in June 2001, he was parachuted into the safe seat of St Helens South where he bought a small detached house without a mortgage for about £55,000.

After the election, he and Camilla went on a property spree in London, buying a £2.7m penthouse in a building with panoramic views of the Thames, and a one-bedroom flat in the same development.

The couple, who married in 1987 and have four children, also purchased two apartments on London’s South Bank at the end of 2001 for £2.25m. Woodward now claims expenses against one of these properties.

One of their best investments was the Westminster townhouse, reportedly bought in 1997. Lord Mandelson once stayed as a guest.

“At the time there was only one other house in 50 or 60 offices in a terraced row,” said Woodward in a 2006 interview. “They were remarkably well priced, yet it was a risk. By the time I sold it nearly half of the street had become residential. I made a lot of money from it.”

His profit on the sale was about £3.7m and a second residence would have been liable for CGT of up to 40%.

John Rosenheim, a lawyer acting for Woodward, said: “Woodward has no direct or personal dealings with the tax authorities or the fees office and always acted on professional advice.”

Tax does have to be taxing.

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"

Move Over Darling II

Congratulations to Alistair Darling for rubbishing my prediction, made earlier this week, about his long term future.

As to whether his staying in office is a sign of his strength, or the Prime Minister's weakness, is another matter.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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"

Live Webchat

Dave Hartnett, Permanent Secretary for Tax, and Simon Norris, Head of Review of HMRC Powers, will take part in a live web chat on 18 June at 2pm on AccountingWeb.

Chat date: Thursday 18 June
Chat time: 14:00-14:20

Questions can be submitted via this link AccountingWeb.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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"

Going Underground

The Register is less than complimentary about HMRC's new CIO, Phil Pavitt, who will take on his role in September this year.

"Phil Pavitt is currently CIO at Transport for London.

It emerged late last year that he was under investigation for alleged irregularities in TfL's hiring policies - Pavitt was a non-exec director of a recruitment firm which found contractors for TfL.

A spokesman for TfL said Pavitt was cleared of all suggestion of wrongdoing.

Pavitt will run a team of 1,400 internal staff, a billion-pound budget and gawd knows how many outsourced contractors. He will be responsible for a two-year transformation programme and play a role influencing inter-department shared services deals.

The advert made clear that the successful candidate would have to transform HMRC's technology. Given the Rev's enviable track record on the tax credit system and of course the missing discs, we can only wish Mr Pavitt well.

Pavitt was CIO at NTL before going underground.

He has also already had a run-in with the Rev's least favourite offshorer, EDS.

At TfL he has overseen big changes in its technology infrastructure, changes to the Oyster contract, and - thank you Phil - the canning of a project to get mobiles working on the Tube."

When Pavitt was at NTL he oversaw the "Harmony" project, which was designed to unify eight billing platforms and 28 CRM databases. It was late and over budget.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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"

Playing Politics

I see that Hartnett is playing politics, by coming out in support of the Christian Aid campaign to change international financial reporting rules.

Quote:

"There is a growing recognition that country-by-country reporting brings additional transparency, particularly in relation to how multinationals are operating in emerging and developing countries."

HMRC's leaders should keep out of politics, they may well end up getting their fingers burned.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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"

Move Over Darling

It looks like Darling will be out of office by Friday.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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"