Dog Whistle Politicians

I see that certain dog whistle politicians and the shouty tabloids are whipping themselves up into a frenzy over tax avoidance. Seemingly if only avoidance could be eradicated all our problems (revenue shortfalls, at least) could be eliminated.

Dr John Pugh (according to the Southport Visiter* - see extract below) certainly seems to think that tax avoidance is the scourge of our time.

*For reason best known to themselves they spell their organ "Visiter".

Aside from the fact that people have the well established legal right to organise their tax affairs in such a way (legally of course) so as to minimise their tax liabilities, Dr Pugh makes a rather sweeping generalisation about "clamping down properly on tax".

What exactly does that mean?

Are not our own "respected" MPs no slouches when it comes to avoiding tax, and to minimising their liabilities (eg via CGT relief on second homes etc)?

Was it not the profligacy of the last government that caused the national debt to balloon, rather than the tax avoidance practices by individuals, companies and MPs?

He and the "Visiter" then confuses tax avoidance with tax evasion.

Sadly it is people like this who have devised, and will continue to devise, our complex and absurdly burdensome tax system.

If only a dog whistle could be created that would lead them to live abroad and out of our lives!

"SOUTHPORT MP John Pugh wants a crackdown on tax cheats.

In a Parliamentary debate he called for an anti-avoidance law to tackle an issue that is costing the Government billions of pounds.

He said: “There are potentially massive sums that could be obtained through clamping down properly on tax.

“In 2008-09, for instance when the Government did crackdown, 12 billion of extra revenue was made.

“This just shows how much avoidance is going on.

“At a time when we face dealing with a large deficit, consideration about how this money is recouped is essential.”

Estimates on how much money is lost by the Treasury in evasion, avoidance and outstanding debts – the tax gap – is put at £40bn a year.

Dr Pugh said many governments tended to take an “after the horse has bolted approach” to dealing with tax avoidance.

He added: “Having a law would ensure that things are far easier to regulate.

“The argument usually used against implementing such a law is that it would lead to capital flight.

“However, Japan and Australia have already implemented such a law and it has not lead to this.

“It would also mean that less time would be spent by the Treasury devising complicated defences against it.”"

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 Knows Best II

The row over HMRC's new powers wrt withdrawing tax relief from any charity, if it feels that any of its senior employees or trustees is untrustworthy, is not abating.

Charity law firm Bates Wells & Braithwaite has stated that it will write to Liberty, asking it to back their campaign to have the law repealed.

Bates Wells & Braithwaite is of the view that the "fit and proper persons" test for charities, breaches the human rights of charity employees.

Rosamund McCarthy, partner at Bates Wells & Braithwaite, is quoted in the Third Sector as saying that the law could give HMRC the power to dismiss charity employees and trustees and bar them from working in the sector again, based on suspicion rather than proof of wrongdoing. It also gave those employees no right to appeal.

HMRC state that it assumed that all people appointed by charities were fit and proper persons, unless HMRC had other evidence.

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"

Foot In Mouth

Ron Horne, managing partner of Johnston Carmichael, has written an article for the Herald in which he argues that "Negotiation, not litigation, is the best way for HMRC to cut down on tax avoidance schemes".

He notes that in October 2005, Dave Hartnett – then the director general of HMRC and now its permanent secretary for tax – announced a major change in the campaign against tax avoidance, going as far as saying that "tax avoidance would be stamped out by 2008".

Oh really?

Hartnett is not exactly a student of human nature, is he?

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"

Fingers In The Till

From IFAonline:

"An HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) debt collection officer has been jailed after pleading guilty to stealing almost £85,000 from taxpayers.

Geoffrey Eley, 44, who worked collecting overdue payments from taxpayers, has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison at Hereford Crown Court, the Redditch Advertiser reports.

Between 2001 and 2007, Eley visited businesses and individuals door-to-door, taking cash payments from 15 taxpayers which he then pocketed.

He conned taxpayers with photocopies of official HMRC receipts, leading them to believe they had settled their debts with HMRC.

Eley, a serving HMRC officer of almost 27 years, stole a total of £84,950 while individual amounts taken from taxpayers ranged from £1,000 to £28,904.

He attempted to cover his tracks by crediting the duped taxpayers' accounts with cheque payments received from unconnected third party taxpayers.

Joff Parsons, head of HMRC's internal governance criminal investigations, says: "HMRC expects the highest standards of behaviour from its staff.

"Eley abused his position of trust for personal gain.

"We will relentlessly pursue anyone who attempts to steal from public funds and they will face criminal sanctions."

He says HMRC has taken steps to ensure similiar abuses can not take place.

"Corruption amongst our staff is rare and will not be tolerated.""

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"

A Recipe For Confusion

The government has proposed a General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR), which would effectively put a blanket ban on any accounting structure that could be judged as a tax loophole – without any specific rule being in breach.

A recipe for confusion for both HMRC and taxpayers, that will cause more disputes than it attempts to resolve.

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"

Computer Says No - Death and Taxes

As the old saying goes:

"there are only two certainties in life, death and taxes".

HMRC, in an effort to save time and energy, have decided to pre empt the former.

That at least was the case for Tonie Francis, whose family were sent a letter by HMRC's tax credit office in Preston informing them that she was dead. The letter requested details of Miss Francis's next of kin, and a copy of her will.

However, there was a small fly in HMRC's oinkment, Ms Francis is still very much alive!

She therefore called HMRC to correct the error.

Can you guess what happened next?

Yes, that's right, HMRC refused to talk to her because she was dead; needless to say her tax credits and child benefit were stopped as well.

HMRC are blaming their hapless and hopeless IT system for this error.

If the HMRC computer had human feelings it would be feeling very hurt and upset by now, given how many times it has been blamed for HMRC's cock ups.

It might also remind its human masters that the computer is only as good as the information put into it by humans.

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"