The Telegraph reports that an all-party group of MPs will tell the Treasury that HMRC is "a 19th century organisation" in need of fundamental reform.
True enough, HMRC is falling apart at the seams.
However, I would venture to suggest that a 19th century organisation would have been better run and not made so many cock ups.
This shambles of an organisation is a result of a.o.:
- political dogma/arrogance,
- political interference,
- a staggeringly complex tax system,
- the politicisation of HMRC
- and lousy leadership within HMRC itself.
HMRC is now working on a major "recovery programme", which means that staff who handle "normal" HMRC business have been taken off their normal duties.
The result?
I would suggest more chaos, more delays and the eventual meltdown of our tax system in its current form.
Michael Fallon, a senior member of the Treasury select committee, said:
"It now looks as if there are even more mistakes in the pipeline.
We're going to have to find out why the computer system didn't work as it should, why it cost so much money and why they didn't design it in a way that is up to date with the way Britain works.
The whole thing needs changing."
Ian Liddell-Grainger, chairman of the group, put the boot in further and said that HMRC was not up to the job of collecting income tax.
"HMRC is a 19th century organisation in a 21st century environment. It has not kept up with the times.
The PAYE system needs to be fundamentally reformed. The current systems are not robust enough to do the jobs they are supposed to do."
The good news is that HMRC are insisting that the new computer system will improve the accuracy of tax codes "in the medium term".
By then we will be either dead or bankrupt!
HMRC is not fit for purpose..PERIOD!
Tax does have to be taxing.
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It is fairly obvious that the problems stem from the merger, the introduction of private sector failed bosses to run the show and the failure of senior management to stop tinkering and interfering.
ReplyDeleteFrom my perspective, it appears that the whole current shambles is aimed at destroying centralised tax collection in order to farm it out to private companies (17th century tax-farming rather than 19th century cock-ups).
I am utterly convinced that Gordon Brown was rubber gloved at some airport when he was a student and had it in for Customs ever since. Equally he may have hated the old IR for assessing his dodgy dealings early in his career correctly.
The fact is the two precursor organisations were reasonably efficient, humane and staffed by competent people with a light touch management system. Jamming two such diverse cultures into one box has simply brought out the worse in everyone (through no fault of theirs). Add the aforementioned failures and tinkering, plus cuts of damn near 50% in the original staff of the two agencies (120,000 down to 65,000) and what do you get? Leslie S, Dave H, Mike C, Pacesetter, LEAN and all the other useless, inappropriate dross that has appeared since 2005.
So where are we from 2005, where we had an Immigration Service, A Customs Service, an Inland Revenue Service and a Police force all quite capable and willing? Well, we have HMRC - the least motivated department of whitehall, a Border Agency where disaster reigns supreme, SOCA about to be binned after 4 years... the list goes on. When II retire, I am going to keep chickens named Leslie, Dave, Mike, Gordon and Tony. I am going to take great pleasure in wringing their necks and eating them. Thank you all for totally fucking up a system of governance, tax collection and crime control that actually worked. There, I feel all better now.
I bet you end up with two chickens called David and an extra one called Nick.
ReplyDeleteWhat we need now is a reorganisation. More change and the bigger the better. That always works.
ReplyDeleteCan you try and keep the cost of the changes somewhere between £1,000.00 and £180,000,000.00 please.
ReplyDeleteThe latest spin this morning from the government and HMRC is that they have now decided to write off arrears of less than £300.
ReplyDeleteDidn't someone say exactly that on this blog last weekend i.e. at least 3 days before the supposed concession was announced. Who is lying to whom?
You may find that because it has leaked out it is better for the management to announce it officially. Although it may just get peoples hopes up.
ReplyDelete