Hanging On The Telephone - Four Million Hang Up On HMRC

As loyal readers are only too well aware, the thorny issue of getting through to HMRC on the phone regularly rears its ugly head on this site with the depressing frequency and inevitability of an unloved season.

Indeed only yesterday I received this Facebook message from a loyal reader:

"Rang HMRC yesterday from 11.00am until 4.30pm and just got the intro/push button crap followed by the engaged tone. Finally got the ringing tone and left it ringing for 35 mins. I hate to think how much it's cost me.

I tried to talk to someone because they say I owe £941 from last year but last year my income was £7200 and my tax code was 747 so I owe them nothing!

In the last 6 weeks I have had 6 tax codings and a total of 11 codes mentioned in those codings, I am so baffled by it all. I e-mailed David Gauke today and am now waiting to see if he can help!

Keep up the good work you are doing a great job!!"

In April 2012 I wrote the following:

"On Tuesday 10 April 2012, LITRG made three calls to HMRC helplines using the routes taken by an ordinary PAYE caller, a pensioner and a tax credit claimant. On average the wait was 29 minutes. LITRG note that on a PAYG mobile that could have cost £11.60 per call, which could equate to half a day’s income for a pensioner (my advice here is that you should avoid calling HMRC using a PAYG mobile)."

It should therefore come as no surprise to anyone that the issue continues to be making headlines, and that the mainstream media have done some probing

The Telegraph reports that figures, obtained by the Times under the Freedom of Information Act, showed that 28% of callers to HMRC (approximately 4 million people) gave up midway through their call to the PAYE helpline. This is an increase from 10% in 2009, when the average waiting time was one minute 53 seconds. Last year, the average waiting time was five minutes 45 seconds.

Fewer than half of taxpayers got through to HMRC on the first attempt, against an industry benchmark of 90%. Labour has accused HMRC of  "chaos and incompetence".

HMRC claim that change in waiting times is because of a decision to increase the size of the queue, so that fewer people hear the engaged tone when they call.

HMRC are quoted in the Mail:

"These figures do not reflect the improvement in service at contact centres."

Fair enough, maybe, my question is has there been an improvement in service at "contact" centres?

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"

Information Commissioner Investigates HMRC

The information commissioner has launched an inquiry into the way that HMRC's criminal investigations unit obtained and used personal information belonging to the family of Osita Mba, a revenue solicitor, and his wife, Claudia.

Documents sent to the information commissioner's office show that in October last year one of Mr Mba's managers forwarded his and his wife's address and four contact telephone numbers to an officer in HMRC's criminal investigations unit.

In December 2011 I wrote:

"Osita Mba, a solicitor with HMRC who turned whistleblower on HMRC's deal with the giant vampire squid (Goldman Sachs), is facing disciplinary proceedings (possibly dismissal and prosecution) for telling the National Audit Office (NAO) and two parliamentary committees about his concerns over the deal.

Mr Mba has worked for HMRC for four years, and apparently has knowledge of the vampire squid deal.

 

Mr Mba made the disclosure to the NAO and parliament under whistleblowing legislation which, theoretically, is meant to protect whistleblowers from prosecution etc.

It seems that HMRC think otherwise, and have launched an inquiry into Mr Mba's conduct. He has been barred from entering his office at Westminster unless he has a personal escort from his line manager, and has been summoned to a meeting."

HMRC's criminal investigations unit can examine tax and telephone records as part of its inquiries. It can also apply to intercept post, emails and telephone calls.

The Guardian reports that the information commissioner's office has given HMRC 28 days to explain how its criminal investigations unit obtained the numbers and why it is not in breach of the Data Protection Act.

It will be interesting to read their explanation.

I have warned many times on this site before about the dangers of giving more power to HMRC, this issue highlights why my warning should be heeded.

I am not alone in being concerned, the disclosure has caused concern among MPs on the Commons public accounts committee who say an ongoing criminal inquiry into Mba and his wife is heavy-handed and wrong.

Why are HMRC out to get Mr Mba?

It seems that HMRC blames Mr Mba for the demise of Dave "Jack" Hartnett.

Stephen Barclay, a committee member, said:

"This is a concerning development. We have taken a very close interest in a whistleblower who we regard as having provided information of public interest to parliament. Clearly we will need to see the details but there is a sense of mistakes being compounded with further mistakes."

HMRC have for the moment declined to comment.

However, they cannot remain silent forever and have to answer the information commissioner's questions.

Stephen Barclay advises me that there are two PAC sessions on HMRC on 26/27th of this month. It will be interesting to see what is unearthed.

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"

HMRC Guidance For Selling Olympic Torches

Given that the forthcoming Olympics are about making money, rather than sport, HMRC has very wisely issued some guidance to those people who are thinking of selling their Olympic torches.
"

Selling your Olympic Torch

If I sell my torch will I be charged tax?

If the torch is worth less than £6,000 when you sell it then you will not have to pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on your proceeds. If it is worth more than £6,000 then you will have a chargeable gain, and you may have to pay CGT, depending on whether you have other gains in the tax year. If you have to pay CGT, the rate charged will be either 18 per cent or 28 per cent, depending on your total income for the year.

You should bear in mind the possibility that selling your torch might be, or might be part of, a trade, in which case any profit would be charged to Income Tax rather than CGT. People who occasionally sell a few personal possessions to raise some cash are not trading, but the things they sell may still give rise to taxable gains as explained above. However if someone regularly sells goods or services, they are likely to be trading and will be liable to Income Tax on their trading profits.

Find out more about what is liable to Capital Gains Tax and how to calculate any liability

If I sell my torch and give the proceeds to charity through Gift Aid what is my tax position?

Depending on the amount received, you may incur a CGT charge. There is no exemption from CGT even if you donate the money you receive on selling the torch to charity.

If you decide to donate the sale proceeds, or the net sale proceeds after CGT, to a charity you will be able to make the donation of money under Gift Aid. For every £100 you donate the charity will reclaim £25 from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). In order for the donation to be valid under Gift Aid you will need to pay enough Income Tax or CGT in the tax year to cover the amount of tax the charity will reclaim on your gift.

What if I donate my torch to a charity rather than sell it myself?

If you give the torch to a charity for them to keep or sell themselves there will be no charge to CGT."

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"

HMRC's Turning Circle

The tax tribunal system brought in by the government appears to be being overwhelmed and log jammed by the caseload being imposed on it.

Accountancy reports that Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures show that there are over 22,000 tax disputes that are waiting to be heard.

The number of unheard cases were 22,100 in the fourth quarter of 2011, while those heard increased from 9,100 in 2010 to 11,000 in 2011.

Ian Hyde, partner at Pinsent Masons, is quoted:

"The increasing number of tribunal cases being heard is indicative of the pressure HMRC has been under to clamp down on tax avoidance and deliver extra revenue for the government during this period of tight public finances.

The backlog shows that the system is getting clogged up. There are simply too many cases to handle and something is clearly wrong with HMRC’s approach. True, budget cuts might not have helped HMRC, but they need to adapt more effectively to the situation.

Centrally, HMRC seems to have genuine enthusiasm for change. 

However, it takes more than just a policy change or an announcement to change things on the ground. 

The experience for many taxpayers in dispute with HMRC is still one of confrontation rather than consensus. 

There needs to be a real sea-change in culture at HMRC if a more consensual approach is to be adopted, but turning around the HMRC oil tanker is going to take a lot of time and effort."

It is true enough that, with any organisation, a policy change (for it to be effective) requires more than just a memo and a new procedure to be issued. Real change needs to occur on the front line, both in terms of attitude and procedures.

What are people's experiences, if any, of the tax tribunal system?

Is HMRC demonstrating a more "consensual" approach?

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"

Strike?

I see that there might be more industrial action (possibly even a strike) by HMRC at some stage in the future.

The Public and Commercial Services union claim that a majority of HMRC staff have voted for strikes or industrial action (short of strikes).

The Guardian quotes PCS general secretary, Mark Serwotka:

"When reducing the budget deficit is supposedly the government's number one priority, it makes absolutely no economic sense to cut ever more staff from the very department responsible for collecting the taxes that fund all our other public services."

HMRC said:

"We are seeking dialogue with the PCS to address their concerns and will work to minimise any disruption to customers if PCS call a strike."

The union, having publicly thrown down the gauntlet, will decide over the coming weeks what action to take.

However, those who are threatening action may care to consider that whilst 52.8% of HMRC staff who voted backed a strike and 77.2% who voted backed other forms of industrial action, the turnout was a mere 33%.

Going to war requires more than the half hearted support of those that you intend to send over the top.

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"

Something For The Weekend

As we have along bank holiday weekend to look forward to, I have a wee question from a loyal reader for you all to ponder over the coming days.

He asks:

"I wonder if you could ask the HMRC element of the group why the intro on the ADL is now 45 seconds long? 

It's pathetic and very annoying."

Comments and information, as always, welcome.

Have it large this weekend!

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"