In December I asked the following two questions:
"Why did Dave Hartnett, Permanent Secretary for Tax, fly business class to Mumbai at the beginning of December with Melissa Tatton (HMRC's Deputy Director of Business International) to participate in a third rate talking shop for Indian accountants and tax officials?
The four nights they spent in rooms on the executive floor of the five-star ITC Maratha Hotel in Mumbai would doubtless have been bearable, but was their trip really necessary?"
The Mail has come up with a few answers:
It seem that the trip cost us (the taxpayers) £8,400, and that for this outlay Hartnett and Tatton delivered a 35 minute speech.
Have they never heard of video conferencing?
I am quite amused that HMRC, inadvertently, belittle Tatton by noting she is not senior enough to publish her expenses (why did she go with Hartnett then if she is not senior enough?):
"The expenses of senior civil servants such as Mr Hartnett are published routinely every three months. Melissa Tatton is not senior enough for us to have to publish those, so we cannot comment on individuals' expenses."
It seems that when this was subject to media scrutiny in December, HMRC told the media that the cost of the dynamic duo's trip was under £6,000.
Not very good with numbers are they?
Tax does have to be taxing.
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This sounds exactly like what was happening in Ireland around 2005-07 with civil servants and ministers living like Sultans flying all round the world tipping waiters, hiring Limos, going to fancy race meetings at the expense of the tax payer.
ReplyDeleteHartnett simply lives in another world, whether its in a 5 star hotel in India or refusing to apologise to the British tax payer.
But HMRC managers will have you by the collar if they sniff a legitimate tiny travel claim before they themselves head off to the airport in a private taxi or to the hotel in Edinburgh, Belfast or Manchester.
So "junior" staff can spend as much as they like then? Maybe that's why Hartnett took her - she can get the beers in etc. and it won't show up on the expenses sheet. Doesn't take them long to catch on does it?
ReplyDeleteJunior staff spend as much as they like? Not at my end of the firm, they can't. But then, I'm not a close personal friend of Dave the Duffer....
ReplyDeleteWe cant even get the bins emptied at my office to save around £30 a month.
ReplyDeleteWe could have had our rubbish sorted, recycled,colour schemed and individually counted and needlessly logged for £8400.
HMRC like wasting taxpayers money on needlees hair brained schemes like this so I might put the idea forward at the next thrilling Buzz.. cant be any worse than the usual patronising dribble they come up with.
28 February 2011 20:05
ReplyDeleteThats funny.
How bout gettin the SOs to stick on orange jump suits and get them to scrub the bogs :)
excuse me, just havin a few beers.
22:15, I can hear the planning cogs turning in the managers heads.
ReplyDelete