HMRC The Sinking Ship - Mike Clasper Resigns

Last Tuesday I wrote the following:

"I was gemused to read an article by Tony Hetherington, in which he lambastes HMRC's executive structure.

One particular issue he raised concerned Mike Clasper (the semi invisible Chairman of HMRC). Hetherington asked HMRC whether anyone represents "ordinary PAYE taxpayers" on HMRC's board.

The answer from HMRC was rather interesting in that, for reasons best known to themselves, HMRC lied.

Quote:

"Our chairman is also chairman of Which?"

 That's grand, except that Clasper isn't chairman of Which?

Clasper is not even a member of its governing council, instead he chairs an offshoot company ( Which? Limited) that handles the commercial activities of Which?, but not Which? consumer campaigns.

Why did HMRC lie about something that could be (and was) so easily checked and proven to be wrong? "

Fortunately for HMRC it seems that it won't have to lie very much longer about Clasper's other roles.

For why?

He has resigned, although he will probably remain physically in his role until the end of this year.

This is rather ironic that he has resigned, given that I and a loyal reader were only just discussing the fact that one of the major problems that HMRC faces is its lack of continuity of policy/direction:

"Anon: Ken One of the major problems at HMRC is lack of continuity or consistent policy direction at the top. There is nothing wrong in principle with bringing in people from the private sector to provide management expertise but the reality is that the three year contracts under which much of Excom is employed results in inevitable leadership churn. 

For example, I believe the CIO Phil Pavitt's engagement is due to expire in September 2012 and he will probably be leaving HMRC this year. This means that HMRC may have a new CIO right in the middle of one of the most crucial computer projects in its history. I find it difficult to believe that Pavitt's replacement will be able to avoid the temptation to tinker with his predecessors technical strategy and may even want to do things radically different. 

The musical chairs at Board level might be great for for ambitious career free booters keen on lucrative one off gigs that add notches to their CVs but it breeds a corrosive short termist view within the organisation which means long term planning is almost impossible.

Ken: You have hit the nail on the head, in fact the problem wrt continuity is a blight that affects many gov departments (and indeed the private sector) ie:

"Five year projects being run by two your managers".

Specifically a project (eg restructuring or IT implementation) that will take many years to implement and bed in requires consistent high quality leadership.

"High quality" leaders (or rather those who are ambitious) have two year mindsets (always looking for the next step up the ladder).

These people take on projects like this on the explicit understanding that they will be promoted in two years, if they make a "success" of it.

The best way to make a "success" is to change whatever the previous managers did, blame him/her for all cock ups, and implement a 100 days "quick wins" policy etc."

What with Homer being new (and not exactly a career "success story" based on her past) Hartnett leaving and Pavitt (as per above) possibly coming the end of his contract this year, this additional departure from the high command leaves very few experienced people on the bridge of the already fatally holed HMRC.

Evidently Clasper has seen the writing on the wall wrt HMRC's future, and wants to move on to more rewarding opportunities. Anyone care to guess which "customer" of HMRC he will join, as is the norm, to act on their behalf when they are negotiating their future tax bills?

It will be interesting to see who replaces Clasper, and indeed whether Clasper leaves HMRC with some form of "golden goodbye".

I wonder who is next to go?

Rats know when ships are sinking.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise



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"