Tuesday 24 December 2019

Merry Christmas



Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Monday 23 December 2019

Loan Charge Review Response



Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Friday 20 December 2019

Loan Charge Report Today?



Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Thursday 19 December 2019

HMRC Intranet Compromised



Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Wednesday 18 December 2019

HMRC Tips on Avoiding Self Assessment Tax Scams


HM Revenue and Customs is warning millions of Self Assessment customers to be aware of fraudsters in the run up to the 31 January deadline.

Over the last year, HMRC received nearly 900,000 reports from the public about suspicious HMRC contact – phone calls, texts or emails. More than 100,000 of these were phone scams, while over 620,000 reports from the public were about bogus tax rebates.

Some of the most common techniques fraudsters use include phoning taxpayers offering a fake tax refund, or pretending to be HMRC by texting or emailing a link which will take customers to a false page, where their bank details and money will be stolen. Fraudsters are also known to threaten victims with arrest or imprisonment if a bogus tax bill is not paid immediately.

HMRC operates a dedicated Customer Protection team to identify and close down scams but is advising customers to recognise the signs to avoid becoming victims themselves. Genuine organisations like HMRC and banks will never contact customers asking for their PIN, password or bank details. Customers should never give out private information, reply to text messages, download attachments or click on links in texts or emails which they are not expecting.

Customers are urged to take action by forwarding details of suspicious calls or emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk and texts to 60599. Customers who have suffered financial loss should contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or use their online fraud reporting tool.

Customers can find out more information on GOV.UK on how to avoid and report scams and recognise genuine HMRC contact. If customers think they have received an HMRC-related phishing email or text message, they can check it against examples on GOV.UK.

Tax is automatically deducted from most UK taxpayers’ wages, pensions or savings. Where tax is not automatically deducted, or when people or businesses have earned additional untaxed income, they are required to complete a Self Assessment tax return each year.

People need to complete a tax return if they:
  • earned more than £2,500 from renting out property
  • or their partner received Child Benefit and either of them had an annual income of more than £50,000
  • received more than £2,500 in other untaxed income, for example from tips or commission
  • are self-employed sole traders
  • are employees claiming expenses in excess of £2,500
  • have an annual income over £100,000
  • earned income from abroad that they need to pay tax on

Further information

  • Self Assessment guidance is available on GOV.UK
  • If customers are completing their Self Assessment online for the first time, they need to register for Self Assessment Online. It can take a few days for the registration to arrive in the post, so it’s important that customers do it as soon as possible. They should contact HMRC for support if they’re concerned about missing the deadline.
  • Be aware of copycat websites and phishing scams – always type in the full online address www.gov.uk/hmrc to obtain the correct link to file your Self Assessment return online securely and free of charge.
  • Customers can also register for HMRC’s help and support email service online or by going to GOV.UK and searching ‘HMRC videos, webinars and email alerts’.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Tuesday 17 December 2019

HMRC People Survey 2019 - 49% Engagement Index Score




Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Thursday 12 December 2019

HMRC's Failed Case Against Birmingham City


Regarding the failed HMRC case against Birmingham City (as per the BBC):
"A petition to wind up Championship club Birmingham City was dismissed by a High Court judge on Wednesday.

HM Revenue & Customs had put forward the case, saying the Blues owed an unspecified amount in tax, but HMRC's lawyers advised the debt had been paid."
A loyal reader asks:
"Would anyone be able to estimate how much taxpayers money was wasted getting this unnecessarily to court? 

Also, how many more similar instances have there been?"
Thanks.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Wednesday 11 December 2019

HMRC Pulls Wool Over NAO's Eyes


The National Audit Office’s (NAO) enquiry into HMRC’s Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool has unfortunately provided little insight after HMRC responded to the questions posed by reiterating its policies and making unsubstantiated claims.

ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin, says:
“Unfortunately, the NAO appears to have fallen victim to HMRC’s tactic of responding to questioning with a number of stock responses that the contracting sector is now too familiar with.

From our extensive investigative work into CEST, we know that little of what the taxman says stands up to even the mildest scrutiny. HMRC has pulled the wool over the eyes of the NAO, which has unfortunately failed to conduct the cross-examination necessary to truly hold the taxman to account.

HMRC has continually employed the same tactics to avoid answering the important questions about CEST and the Off-Payroll rules. The failure of an official body to hold the taxman to account has enabled HMRC to blight the public sector by paralysing its flexible workforce. 

A comprehensive review of IR35 is essential not only to prevent further damage to UK plc and the economy come April 2020, but to hold HMRC to account and prevent it from further abusing its position.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Tuesday 10 December 2019

Beware The Xmas Spammers



Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Friday 6 December 2019

Disgruntled Lemmings II - HMRC's Intranet Outed



Interestingly the Tweet makes the valid point that HMRC might consider shutting the intranet down.

This "solution" has form, way back in 2007 I wrote about the HMRC staff discussion website (not on the HMRC system) Disgruntled Lemmings, which itself was shut down in 2007.

Take a look :).

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Wednesday 4 December 2019

HMRC's Staff Shortage Limits Investigations


International Investment reports that HMRC does not have the staff to investigate all the offshore tip-offs it gets, after being swamped with a staggering 5.7 million pieces of information about overseas bank accounts held by three million British citizens.

The information is coming from 100 countries under common reporting standards (CRS) agreed by the international Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The standards are designed to stop tax evasion, or avoidance, by making governments aware of overseas money held by their citizens.

However, BDO state that becuae HMRC has a staff shortage it is instead sending out a series of "nudge" letters to the people named asking them to send details of their financial affairs in an attempt to uncover incidents of tax evasion.
Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Tuesday 3 December 2019

Chancellor Commits To Review IR35




Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Tuesday 26 November 2019

CEST Tool Updated


HMRC has released an updated Check for Employment Status for Tax (CEST) service, used to find out whether a contractor or employer should be classed as employed or self-employed for tax purposes, and in-line with IR35 legislation.

Susan Ball, employer solutions tax partner at RSM, is quoted by AccountancyAge:
It is understood that around 30 questions have been updated or included and that several industry bodies and reportedly more than 300 stakeholders were asked to use the new version and feed in comments. Until now CEST produced an answer in only 85% of cases.

The new tool has also been rigorously tested against case law and settled cases by officials and external experts. After answering a series of questions, the CEST tool will return a judgement on whether IR35 legislation applies or not. Questions cover worker’s duties, substitutes and helpers, working arrangements, financial risk, worker’s involvement and contracts (including if working for others).”
Anyone tried it yet?


Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Monday 25 November 2019

900K Scam Attempts


The FT reports that almost 900,000 people received scam emails, texts or calls purporting to be from HMRC in the past year.

HMRC has urged the public to be vigilant in the run-up to January 31’s tax return deadline.

Seemingly the most common scam, reported by more than 620,000 people, was the unexpected offer of a tax rebate by phone, text or email.

Victims were directed to phishing websites bearing the HMRC logo, designed to trick them into disclosing personal information, including their bank details, address, date of birth and mother’s maiden name, enabling their money to be stolen.

More than 100,000 of the fraud attempts reported to HMRC concerned phone scams, where criminals posing as HMRC staff threatened victims with arrest or imprisonment if fictitious tax bills were not paid.

HMRC has set up a special email address — phishing@hmrc.gov.uk — so that members of the public can use to report scams.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Tuesday 12 November 2019

HMRC Is "Incorrect"


Energy Voice reports that Awilco Drilling, headquartered in Westhill, near Aberdeen, said it was in “regular contact” with HMRC regarding part of its income booked in 2015.

The company believed it could use its accumulated losses to offset the income, giving it a reduction in tax liability for the year However, HMRC disagrees and has levied a £7.7M tax bill on Awilco.

In the firm’s third-quarter results announcement, Awilco’s management said they were “of the opinion that HMRC is incorrect” and have challenged the decision.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Monday 11 November 2019

Office For Statistics Regulation To Review HMRC


The Office for Statistics Regulation has confirmed it is to review the quality-assurance principles and processes HMRC uses for its data publication after a double-counting error added almost £7bn to its Corporation Tax receipt statistics.

Director general for regulation Ed Humpherson said HMRC had invited the watchdog to give an independent assessment of the department’s quality-management approach and identify areas of improvement after the “significant error” emerged earlier this year.

While the error – revealed by HMRC in September – has not resulted in any financial loss to the nation's coffers, it did mean that Corporation Tax receipts statistics reflected a figure that grew to become a combined £6.95bn higher than should have been the case between April 2011 and July 2019.

Humpherson said HMRC’s most recent set of Corporation Tax statistics, published in September, had corrected the data and noted that the actual figures reported in HMRC’s accounts remained the same.


Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Thursday 7 November 2019

HMRC Wreaking Havoc On Taxpayers' Lives

MPs have warned the attitude of HMRC towards its controversial loan charge was "wreaking havoc" on taxpayers, amid claims of homelessness, deaths, and other hardships allegedly caused by its demands.

The Loan Charge All-Party Parliamentary Group published its latest survey report November 5 in which more than 2,000 people believed to be facing the loan charge detailed how it, and HMRC's pursuit of its payment, had impacted their lives.

According to the survey, carried out between October 23 and October 28, one in six respondents are yet to receive settlement figures from HMRC detailing how much is owed, and a third have still not been formally notified of the charge by the taxman.

When approached by FTAdviser HMRC maintained more than 99 per cent of "customers" who had provided the relevant information by the April 2019 deadline had now received settlement calculations, as of August 31.

The MPs' report found more than 60 families were believed to have lost their homes as a result of the loan charge and two respondents reported they had been made homeless.

Further respondents said they had "seriously considered" suicide facing the charge and the parliamentary group also received reports of alleged miscarriages due to the stress of the situation.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group said much of the sentiment expressed in its most recent findings was similar to that published in its March survey - but where previous responses had focused on the legislation itself as the cause of distress, resentment was now growing towards HMRC's behaviour "wreaking havoc on taxpayers' lives".

The report said:
"In addition to HMRC’s inadequate ‘service’ towards taxpayers, participants have continued to emphasise that they are fearful, uncertain and this is now giving rise to a growing sense of anger at the perceived unjust manner in which HMRC is treating them.

The number of those participants who have claimed bankruptcy remains small. We can speculate that increased levels of bankruptcy are more likely to occur after taxpayers have signed settlement agreements.

Nevertheless, 94 per cent of participants remain in a perpetual state of limbo not knowing what the future holds."
Outside of the specific questions included in the survey, respondents were invited to share details of their experiences of living with the loan charge.

These accounts included claims of abortions to "spare the unborn child from living with stress and threat of poverty".

Irrespective of the arguments about whether the loan charge is a retrospective tax or not, quite clearly a situation whereby people are committing suicide and having abortions because of a tax bill is wrong on every level.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Wednesday 6 November 2019

Loan Charge Review On Hold Until After The Election



Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Tuesday 5 November 2019

IT Contractor Wins £240K Appeal Against HMRC


The Register reports that IT contractor Richard Alcock has won an appeal against HMRC after HMRC said he owed more than £200,000 in national insurance contributions (NICs) and income tax under off-payroll rules.

The IR35 legislation states that individuals who work alongside PAYE staff in similar roles should pay the same amount in income tax and national insurance contributions as employees. However, as contractors, they are not entitled to the same holiday and sick pay benefits.

Alcock contracted with Accenture and the Department for Work and Pensions as a consultant via his company, RALC Consulting, between April 2010 and April 2015, working on the Universal Credit IT project.

In March 2017, HMRC determined that Alcock owed income tax and NICs of £164,482 and £78,842 respectively for that period. However, it is unlikely he would have had to pay the entire sum because of offsets for tax already paid.

In its ruling, the tribunal stated that it was "satisfied on balance that the hypothetical contracts between Mr Alcock and his end clients, DWP and Accenture, would be contracts for services (self-employment)".

It concluded:
"All HMRC's Determinations, decisions and notices are cancelled. The Appellant is not liable to pay the Income tax and NICs assessed by HMRC. The appeal is allowed in full."
However, this may not be over as HMRC are considering appealing.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Monday 4 November 2019

HMRC Recruits Mark Denney For Interim Role as CDIO


Mark Denney has been appointed as interim Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) to take forward HMRC’s ambitious digital transformation agenda.

Mark is a senior change and IT executive with broad experience in digital transformation, payments infrastructure, technology and strategic change. He replaces Jacky Wright, who has returned to Microsoft, as planned, after her 2-year stint at HMRC.

Mark’s appointment will provide continuity for the department until a permanent CDIO has been recruited. Following Jim Harra’s confirmation as Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary, recruitment for the permanent CDIO role will start in the near future.

Mark spent more than a decade at Barclays, latterly as Managing Director, Chief Information Officer and Head of Change at Barclays Corporate Bank and Payments, before leaving last year to take up contracting roles. He previously held senior positions at JP Morgan Chase and GE Capital.

Jim Harra, HMRC’s Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary, said:
I’m delighted to welcome Mark to HMRC as our new Chief Digital and Information Officer. He was an exceptional candidate and his appointment enables us to continue our transformation to a digitally-enabled, world-class organisation.
His experience in technological change and payments infrastructure is particularly relevant for us as we expand our online services to business and personal customers and implement the digital strategy we’ve developed over the past 2 years.
Mark Denney said:
I’m really looking forward to joining HMRC at such an exciting time and to having the opportunity to build on the achievements of Jacky Wright.
Mark will take up his role on 11 November 2019.

Now what I don't understand is why recruit someone from outside HMRC for only an "interim" role?

Why not appoint him fulltime, if he is suitably qualified?
 

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Friday 1 November 2019

The Tax That Dare Not Speak Its Name - #LoanCharge


It would seem that the Loan Charge is a sensitive issue...who knew?

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Wednesday 30 October 2019

Jim Harra New Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary at HMRC

Appointment of the new Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary at HMRC

Jim Harra appointed as the new Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary at HMRC, succeeding Sir Jonathan Thompson.

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The Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, with the agreement of the Prime Minister, has today announced the appointment of Jim Harra as the new Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Jim was formerly the Second Permanent Secretary at HMRC, and has been covering the role of Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary on an interim basis since Sir Jonathan Thompson moved to become Chief Executive of the Financial Reporting Council.
Welcoming Jim Harra’s appointment, Sir Mark Sedwill said:
As Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary, Jim will continue building on the excellent work he has already set in motion at HMRC. I know that he will provide strong leadership to one of the biggest departments in the Civil Service, and his appointment reflects not only the huge contribution to public service he has made to date, but also the wealth of departmental knowledge he will bring to the role.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid said:
I’m delighted that Jim Harra has been appointed as Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary of HM Revenue and Customs. I’ve worked closely with Jim as we have prepared Britain for Brexit, and his experience and expertise mean he’s the right person to lead HMRC at this crucial time.
Jim Harra said:
I’m thrilled to take on the role of HMRC’s Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary, particularly at such a critical time. I have a deep respect for colleagues within this department and am proud that they are recognised as among the best in government. I’m very much looking forward to tackling the challenges and opportunities that we’ll face, together, including continuing our progress towards making HMRC the best tax and customs authority in the world.
Notes
  • This appointment has been made by the Prime Minister with the agreement of the Chancellor for the Exchequer and Cabinet Secretary. It follows an internal recruitment exercise.
  • Jim Harra has been interim Chief Executive since 1 October 2019 and Second Permanent Secretary since January 2018.
  • Previously Jim held the dual role of Tax Assurance Commissioner and Director General Customer Strategy and Tax Design in HMRC.
  • Jim Harra’s career began in HMRC’s predecessor, the Inland Revenue as a tax inspector in 1984, and held a number of director-level positions becoming director general for business tax in 2012.
  • Arrangements to appoint a successor as Second Permanent Secretary will be announced in due course.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Tuesday 29 October 2019

HMRC Keeping It Real!


In recent evidence to the Treasury Committee, HMRC’s director general for customer compliance, Penny Ciniewiczis said that HMRC is exploring how it can better analyse live data to identify people who are being drawn into tax-avoidance schemes.

Apparently HMRC is now piloting various new approaches ways to identify tax-avoidance schemes, because they are rarely disclosed by the companies that sell them.

Included in these pilots is a programme of work monitoring Pay As You Earn and other “real-time” data for indications that people may be getting drawn into tax-avoidance schemes, before contacting them in an attempt to “steer them away”.

Let's see how that goes then!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Friday 25 October 2019

Budget's Off!




Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Thursday 24 October 2019

Mel Stride Wins Chair of Treasury Committee



Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Wednesday 23 October 2019

HMRC Clamping Down on Avoidance Scheme Enablers


HMRC is clamping down on the promoters and enablers of tax avoidance schemes in an effort to stop situations like the loan charge happening in the future.

Speaking at a Treasury select committee evidence session on October 22, Penny Ciniewicz, HMRC’s director general of customer compliance, said the department was “doubling the resources” it had involved in tackling those in the 'avoidance supply chain'.

This includes companies and people ranging from the designers of schemes to accountants and financial advisers who recommend the schemes to their clients.

Ms Ciniewicz said:
We have more than 100 current investigations into promoters [and enablers] and we’re keeping a very close eye on the market for avoidance.

We are spotting schemes as they emerge and we’re tackling them.
Avoidance is legal, evasion is illegal.

The issue with the loan charge scheme is that it was deemed to be illegal, and then HMRC went after people who had used it before it was deemed illegal (ie there is a retrospective element to this).

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Friday 18 October 2019

HMRC Spends £7M on O365


On 22 January, HMRC received Cabinet Office approval to spend £4.9m on O365 software. The green light for an additional outlay of £850,000 was granted exactly two months later.

Public Technology reports that in Q1 of the current financial year HMRC spent an additional £1.2m on rolling out Microsoft’s Office 365 technology, taking total spending on the deployment to about £7m.

O365 is Microsoft’s flagship hosted software product, and offers cloud-based versions of a range of popular productivity programs, such as Word, Excel, and Outlook.

Is this money well spent?


Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Wednesday 16 October 2019

Over 13,000 Changes - FFS!



Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Monday 14 October 2019

Future Borders Digital Design


HMRC is looking to appoint up to four suppliers to support its work for the next two years creating and implementing a range of digital services as part of the cross-government Future Borders programme.

HMRC has published two contract notices respectively seeking commercial partners to provide additional design and delivery skills to assist in its work on a number of “operational facing digital products” to be rolled out at the UK border.

Many of the services in question are currently at the stage of “emerging and initiatives and prototypes”. Work to design, construct and, ultimately, deploy them will take place over the next two years.

The chosen suppliers will be expected to be able to provide specialist teams and individuals to work as part of scrum teams delivering project sprints. All personnel provided must have baseline personnel security standard clearance.

Deadline for both is 28 October.


Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Friday 11 October 2019

Junior Tax Facts



HMRC's introduction to tax for 8 to 11 year olds, in order to ensure that when they become adults they happily hand their money over to the state ;).

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"