Oh Lucky Jim - NS&I's "Fresh Start"

 

NS&I's "Fresh Start": They’ve Dragged Sir Jim Harra Out of Retirement – The Same Bloke Who Turned HMRC Customer Service Into a National Disgrace

Hello folks, you poor savers still hoping your Premium Bonds might actually pay out one day, or that your NS&I account won’t mysteriously vanish into the ether. While HMRC continues its proud tradition of hanging up on deadline day, chasing grannies for £47, and taking two years to cough up refunds, the government has come up with a brilliant solution to the growing crisis at National Savings & Investments (NS&I).

They’ve hauled Sir Jim Harra – the former First Permanent Secretary at HMRC – out of retirement to take over as interim chief executive. Because nothing says “fresh start” quite like appointing the man who presided over the absolute collapse of HMRC’s customer service.

During Harra’s reign at HMRC, helpline wait times ballooned to a record 23 minutes, with around a third of calls going unanswered. MPs on the Public Accounts Committee accused the department of deliberately degrading phone services to force people online – a claim Harra dismissed as “baseless”. Trust in the system? Shattered. Backlogs? Biblical. Refunds? Forget it. Sick days? Half a million and counting. But sure, let’s give this bloke the keys to NS&I, which is currently drowning in a £400m–£470m+ scandal involving missing savings, untraceable Premium Bonds, and bereaved families unable to access relatives’ money.

NS&I – the government’s own savings bank, the one that’s supposed to be rock-solid and taxpayer-backed – has been hit by chronic failings in tracing accounts and paying out what’s owed. The previous boss, Dax Harkins, has been shown the door after a Telegraph investigation exposed the scale of the mess. Now Harra gets a three-month review to “investigate the background” and “learn lessons”.

This is peak Civil Service musical chairs. When one quango screws up spectacularly, don’t fix the underlying problems – just shuffle in another career mandarin who failed at the last gig. Harra couldn’t sort HMRC’s phones, portals, or basic competence, but he’s somehow the right man to steady NS&I’s ship? Pull the other one.

The message to every saver is crystal clear: your money might be “100% safe” in theory, but good luck actually getting your hands on it if the system loses track. The same bureaucratic incompetence that leaves you on hold for an hour at HMRC is now running the savings bank where millions of ordinary people park their cash, Premium Bonds, and ISAs.

And the real kicker? While Harra was busy letting HMRC customer service rot, the department was still hammering taxpayers with penalties, trivial demands, and MTD quarterly reporting burdens. Now he gets another cushy interim role with presumably another fat pension top-up on the way.

This isn’t leadership. It’s institutional protection racket. The Civil Service looks after its own – even when they’ve demonstrably failed at the job.

But when the same clown who wrecked HMRC’s service gets rewarded with another top job at NS&I while savers can’t access their own money? That’s not taxing – that’s taking the absolute piss out of the British public.

Amazon “Government Incompetence Survival Kit” Suggestions
(affiliate links – because you’ll need these while waiting for your savings to reappear)

• Noise-Cancelling Headphones – perfect for ignoring both HMRC and NS&I hold music
• “Fresh Start” Mug – ironic morning tea while reading the latest shambles
• Heavy-Duty Shredder – for when the next brown envelope arrives
• Stress Ball (Civil Servant Face) – squeeze until the review is complete
• Large Bottle of Something Strong – medicinal purposes only

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"

MTD Deadline Fast Approaching - Less Than 10% Have Signed Up

 

HMRC has confirmed 864,000 people must comply with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026. Only 81,000 have signed up. That is fewer than 1 in 10. If you are a landlord or sole trader earning over £50,000, the deadline is weeks away — not months.

If you're a landlord or sole trader with qualifying income over £50k, you should register and get compatible software sorted immediately—penalties for late quarterly updates start after April 2026. Check your eligibility and sign-up on GOV.UK. 

 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"

Angela Rayner and the Labour Party's Tax Advice Bill

It has emerged that Angela Rayner has had specialist tax advice covered by the Labour Party.

The party commissioned leading barrister Jonathan Peacock KC to review Rayner's tax position, focusing primarily on whether she had underpaid stamp duty on her £700,000–£800,000 flat purchase in Hove, East Sussex. This advice also covered related matters such as council tax, capital gains tax, and inheritance tax implications. 

Peacock reportedly spent up to five days on the task, delivering draft advice on 1 September 2025 and final advice the following day. Rayner had requested the legal input from the party, and senior Labour officials arranged for Peacock's involvement. The bill was paid by party headquarters — a decision that has drawn sharp criticism from some within Labour itself, who have described it as a "shameful use of party resources" amid the party's post-election financial pressures, including a reported £3.8 million deficit.

The exact cost remains undisclosed, but tax and legal experts estimate it could run into tens of thousands of pounds. 

No declaration appears in the parliamentary Register of Members’ Financial Interests for this benefit. As of early 2026, searches of the register (available via parliament.uk and monitoring sites) show no entry under relevant categories like gifts, benefits, donations, or miscellaneous support from the Labour Party.

There are also no public indications that Rayner has reported the value of this advice as a benefit in kind to HMRC. Under UK tax rules (Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003), payments by an employer or equivalent body (here, the party in relation to her deputy leadership role) for personal legal advice are generally taxable unless tied directly to work duties. 

Since this concerned her private property and family trust arrangements — unrelated to parliamentary or official responsibilities — analysts argue it would likely be treated as a taxable benefit, potentially leaving Rayner liable for income tax (and possibly National Insurance) on its value.

This revelation comes against the backdrop of Rayner's earlier stamp duty controversy. She admitted underpaying around £40,000 in higher-rate stamp duty on the Hove flat (treated as a second home due to trust arrangements for her children), self-referred to the prime minister's ethics adviser, and cooperated with HMRC. The ministerial standards probe found she breached the code, contributing to her resignation as deputy prime minister, housing secretary, and deputy Labour leader.

While the original tax underpayment was settled (with potential penalties), this party-funded advice has raised fresh questions about transparency, declarations, and possible additional tax liabilities.

Doubtless HMRC will now be aware of this, even if she hasn't yet declared it.

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"

Under 10% Signed Up for MTD ITSA

 

Under 10% Signed Up for MTD ITSA: HMRC's Digital Dream Is Turning Into the Taxpayer's Worst Nightmare – And They're Still Forcing It Down Our Throats

Greetings, you reluctant guinea pigs. Here we are in March 2026, just weeks away from the April 6 start date for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD ITSA), and the latest figures are in: fewer than 10% of the first mandatory cohort have actually signed up and joined the digital hellscape. Less than one in ten of the roughly 700,000–800,000 sole traders and landlords earning £50,000+ gross from self-employment or property have bothered (or managed) to register for MTD ITSA.

Let that sink in. HMRC has spent years (and billions of our money) hyping this as the greatest thing since sliced bread – quarterly digital updates, real-time tax estimates, better cashflow planning, closing the tax gap, blah blah blah. They've delayed it multiple times, thrown soft landings at new joiners, and still the uptake is pathetic. Under 10%. That's not "slow start"; that's a mass boycott by apathy and terror.

Why the ghost town?

• Nobody trusts HMRC's tech – The same clowns who crash on deadline day, lose your records, issue £2.8bn phantom demands to corner shops, and can't answer a phone without an hour of Vivaldi torture expect you to link your bank feeds, categorise every receipt quarterly, and trust their portals won't eat your data? Pull the other one.
• It's extra work for zero benefit – You still pay tax annually (or twice with payments on account). The "real-time estimate" is just another screen you have to check. Quarterly summaries mean four deadlines instead of one, software costs (£8–£30/month for QuickBooks/Xero etc.), endless receipt scanning, and the looming threat of penalty points if you slip. For what? So HMRC gets live surveillance on your finances? Cheers, but no thanks.
• The software is a minefield – Even the "simple" bridging tools are clunky, bank feeds fail, categorisation rules are a moving target, and if your setup is slightly non-standard (partnerships delayed, mixed income, overseas property), good luck finding compatible kit without paying through the nose.
• Fear of the unknown – Pensioners, older landlords, and low-tech sole traders are staring at this like it's alien technology. Forums are full of "I'm not doing it until they force me" posts. Many are gambling on HMRC's legendary enforcement sloth – miss the first few updates, see what happens.
• They've been caught lying about the numbers before – HMRC's own cost-benefit forecasts have been revised downward repeatedly. Original revenue windfall promises slashed, compliance costs ballooned to £1.4bn+. Taxpayers smell a rat: this isn't about helping us; it's about control and eventual mandatory payments-on-account creep.

And what’s HMRC's response to this resounding "no thanks"? Crickets, vague press releases about "strong progress" (under 10% is strong?), and quiet threats that non-sign-ups will eventually get auto-enrolled or penalty-pointed into submission. Reeves still bangs on about "modernising the tax system" while her department hires 1,000 valuation officers for the mansion tax raid and lets Rayner's stamp duty probe drag on forever.

This pathetic signup rate is the clearest signal yet: MTD ITSA is not wanted, not needed, and not trusted. It's a solution looking for a problem, built by people who can't run their own organisation without half a million sick days a year. The first cohort is voting with their feet – or rather, with their inaction.

But forcing quarterly digital shackles on people who can't even be arsed to sign up? That's not taxing – that's tyranny by admin, and right now, the peasants aren't having it.

Amazon "MTD Boycott Starter Pack" Suggestions
(affiliate links – because resistance needs supplies)

• "Not Signing Up Until They Drag Me" Mug – morning motivation
• External Hard Drive – backup your records the old-fashioned way
• Noise-Cancelling Headphones – for ignoring HMRC webinars
• Shredder – for when the mandatory nudge letters start arriving
• Strong Black Coffee – fuel for the inevitable last-minute panic (if any)

Tax does have to be taxing. 

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 Costs of New MTD Rules Ignored by HMRC

 

HMRC has failed to do any assessment of the tax loss that will result from people quitting work as a result of the new MTD rules which require 5 tax returns a year. 

 If just 1% of self-employed taxpayers with turnovers above £20k cease working there will be a direct tax loss of £75m & an indirect loss - from VAT, indirect taxes, & knock-on effects on the wider economy - of another £150m. And that estimate excludes anyone from the top 10% of self-employed taxpayers.

Source 

There is an opt out if you claim religious beliefs prevent you from filing online. 

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"

Pulling a Sickie - HMRC Days Off 2025

 

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"