A Little Bit of Politics - The Winds of War

As an interesting aside to last night's defeat of the government's plans to launch punitive strikes on Syria in the coming days side by side with the USA, one of the Tory "no shows" in the vote was our old chum David Gauke (as per Guido Fawkes).

Methinks that if Cameron survives, in the short term, there will most assuredly be a reshuffle of those who did not stand by their leader.

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"

Cyber Attack

HMRC have arrested five men on suspicion of cyber attacking computer systems operated by HMRC as part of an attempted tax scam. 

HMRC allege that those arrested used "illegally obtained personal data from third parties" to set up fake tax self assessment accounts online in a bid to "steal large sums of false tax rebates". It said that the attempted value of the fraud amounted to £500,000.

HMRC said that it had charged one man with cheating HMRC, whilst a further four men were arrested before being released on bail pending further enquiries. Italian cyber crime investigators helped HMRC to identify and arrest the charged individual as he disembarked a flight from Italy into Stansted airport on Saturday.

Out-Law.com quote Andrew Sackey (assistant director of criminal investigation at HMRC):

"HMRC’s online systems proved extremely resilient to these attacks - they correctly identified and prevented the vast majority of false repayment attempts from the outset.

These arrests clearly demonstrate that we can, and will, apprehend those suspected of attempting to cheat UK taxpayers by defrauding HMRC, with international assistance if necessary."

Was this really a cyber attack, in the true meaning of the phrase (eg a DOS attack), or instead an attempted fraud using online filing as a means of defrauding HMRC?

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"

RTI Survey

HMRC has launched an online survey to find out how difficult the ‘on or before’ rule for reporting PAYE in real time is proving for tax agents and employers. The ‘on or before’ rule requires employers to report PAYE on or before the date of payment to their employees.

The results of the survey will be used by HMRC to help them assess the impact of RTI reporting deadlines, and to determine what changes are needed.

The survey closes on Friday the 13 September, and is expected to take approximately ten minutes to complete. The responses are confidential.

HMRC has asked the professional bodies, including the ICAEW and CIPP to "pass on their thanks’ to all their members for their ‘hard work in making real time reporting a success."

As per HMRC:

"Following the introduction of real time reporting of PAYE information in April this year, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has launched an online survey to learn more about how employers and agents are finding the obligation to report PAYE information 'on or before' employees are paid.

HMRC will use the information to help assess the impact of these reporting changes and to tell them more about whether any changes are needed to the new reporting rules.

This is your chance to have your say, so they would strongly encourage you to complete the survey (Opens new window) which should only take 10 minutes. The survey closes on 13 September 2013.

The survey is hosted by an external company called Survey Monkey and all answers are entirely confidential - so please be totally honest in your responses."

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"

HMRC Dragged Into Pissing Contest

I see that HMRC is being dragged into a political pissing contest between the Tory party and the Labour party.

This helps no one in the real world.

As per the Telegraph:

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"

The LGA Talks Bollocks

Last week the Local Government Association (LGA), for reasons best known to itself, decided to blow its own trumpet and have a go at HMRC's tax collection record.

The LGA said that uncollected tax was costing the equivalent of £1,370 for every household in England and Wales.

Cllr Sharon Taylor, chairwoman of the LGA's finance panel and Labour leader of Stevenage Borough Council in Hertfordshire, is quoted in the Huffington Post:

"If central government's collection rates were as good as those of councils, the public purse would be more than £20 billion better off.

That's almost double the size of the total spending cuts announced in the Chancellor's spending round. When the taxman's balance sheet falls short, it takes a toll on public services across the board.

Local government is the most efficient part of the public sector. Council tax has one of the highest collection rates of any tax. We cannot afford for local services like road maintenance, libraries and social care to continue paying the price of those who evade and avoid their tax liability. We all need government to do better in tackling this.

Local authorities collect council tax from more than 22 million homes. If councils can obtain more than 97% of this, it is reasonable that Whitehall should be able to match this.

Government has made positive noises on tackling unpaid tax. We now want to see a clear timetable which sets out how government will significantly improve their tax collection record."

Pass the sick bag someone!

Aside from the bizarre delusion that local government is the "most efficient part of the public sector", the comparison of council tax with tax collected by HMRC is absurd.

1 Council tax is straightforward to calculate, administer and collect.

2 Council's know where you live.

3 Tax collected by HMRC covers a veritable smorgasbord of income streams/types (eg salary, bonuses, capital gains, IHT etc etc); ie it is not always straightforward, easy to administer or calculate.

The LGA is talking complete and utter bollocks!

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"

Clasper Gets His Coats

I see that Mike Clasper, the ex chairman of HMRC, has been appointed as chairman of Coats the zip manufacturer owned by Guiness Peat.

The FT reports that Coats will be floated on the Stock Exchange.

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"