Faith

My thanks to a loyal reader who has advised me that HMRC Directorate appears to have lost faith in some of its management in at least one HMRC centre.

It seems that in at least one HMRC centre, control over the people survey (or rather the follow up/response to the results of the people survey) has been moved from management to the Directorate.

Senior Management Teams (SMTs) are local management groups usually led by a G6 or G7 looking after Senior Officers (SOs). I am advised that SMTs have failed to improve engagement scores in their areas, so the response to the people survey has been handed to the Directorate.

This change in control implies that ExComm have lost faith in the management on the ground (in at least one centre).

The fact that control has been passed up the line at least shows that ExComm are trying to address the issues raised in the last survey. However, will this change in control actually lead to an improvement, or is this merely a sacrifice of SMTs to appease the gods?

In the event that the Directorate fail, will they be sacrificed as well?

Serious questions need to be asked as to why SMTs were unable to "engage" with local staff and work with them for an improvement?

Does this mean that Pacesetter (the sacred totem of ExComm) is in effect flawed and failing?

Feel free to comment and share your views and experiences.

More will follow.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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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"

Security Matters - FAQ

Question:

When is a secure email address not secure?

Answer:

When it is assigned to HMRC

My thanks to the loyal readers (see comments below) who highlighted this issue.

Loyal Reader #1

"I spoke to an Inspector the other day and asked for her gsi e-mail address, only to be told that she couldn't correspond by e-mail "for security reasons". As I remember, "gsi" stands for Government Secure Internet. Form your own conclusions. "

Loyal Reader #2

"I have a gsi address also and have been told that because of data security issues I am not allowed to receive external emails from the public.
This is after we were told to reduce the amount that is printed - when I suggested sending it by email I was told it wasn't a secure method of communication - go figure ..... "

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

Post Procedures

HMRC is introducing a new procedure for handling incoming post on enquiry cases. Documents will be scanned and allocated electronically to HMRC's case files. The documents will then either be returned to the sender, or securely destroyed.

Testing of the new procedure began in March 2011, the roll out will occur in September. However, there is some concern over what HMRC will do with the original documents after scanning.

Whilst some documents (eg P60s, birth, death and marriage certificates, passports) will be returned, others will be securely destroyed within 40 days unless the sender asks for them to be returned.

Various professional bodies have advised HMRC that it needs to be clearer as to what it will automatically return. As such HMRC has issued an update stating that it is now reviewing its policy for returning original documents.

A further update will be issued in due course.

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

Treasury Not Up To The Job

Accountancy Age reports that Chas Roy-Chowdhury appeared before the House of Lords Finance Bill committee last week, and told them that the Treasury does not have the necessary expertise to develop tax policy.

Quote:

"We also did not see any problems about tax policy moving across to the Treasury but I think that is now a problem.

I think tax policy is in the wrong place. It ought to go back into HMRC. HMRC has the tax expertise.

The Treasury has the economists, who have not probably ever dealt with tax, so we need to bring it back into HMRC, where the proper consultation happens, where there is proper expertise and where there is proper policy formulation."

I would be interested to hear people's views on this, especially those within HMRC.

Is this really a panacea for HMRC's ills, or merely some tinkering with the deckchairs as the ship continues to sink?

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

Groundhog Day

It seems that, as with the regular cycle of the seasons, there is yet another government "headline catching initiative" to reduce the red tape negatively impacting British business.

The Telegraph reports that the Treasury has asked the Orifice of Tax Simplification (OTS) to identify how bureaucracy in the tax system holds small businesses back.

Exchequer Secretary David Gauke, who is beginning to feature on this site a little too frequently, claims that wants the OTS to identify ways to improve the way that HMRC interacts with small businesses, including the processes involved in starting and growing new firms.

One of the major problems with the tax system, as it currently stands, is that it was set up with a "Victorian mindset" of people working for only one employer. In the real world many people are now self employed, or work for several employers.

Job "flexibility" and "getting on our bikes" has long been pushed by governments of all political persuasions. However, it is ironic that the tax system (under the control of these governments) remains rigidly inflexible wrt "portfolio" working.

As to whether anything tangible comes of this latest "initiative", remains to be seen. I would observe:

1 Governments, over the last few decades, have all claimed that they want to reduce the burden on business. Yet that burden has steadily increased over the years. These "initiatives" for reducing red tape make nice headlines, yet nothing ever seems to come of them.

2 HMRC's mess is the direct result of government interference, and the ever increasing complexity of tax legislation. The solution lies in the hands of the politicians.

3 Politicians thrive on complexity and tinkering with the law/regulations.

Why?

They need to show the voters that they perform a useful function, and that we cannot do without them.

In order for things to change/improve those who control the system (ie the politicians) must genuinely want things to change/improve.

The question is, do the politicians really want things to change and improve?

All views and comments, as always, welcome.

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

Debt Collection - HMRC Targets Nothing To Pay

It seems that HMRC have been sending letters to businesses informing them that their "outstanding tax debts" have been transferred to the HMRC's Distraint Department "to list your goods so that they may be sold at a public auction".

A tad "harsh" given that these letters, "signed" by imaginary non existent people, are being sent to businesses that owe ZERO.

Accountancy Age quote Paul Aplin, partner at A C Mole & Sons, who says that his clients have begun receiving these types of letters in the past few months.

"The thing that is missing from the letter is the amount of the debt that has prompted HMRC to consider such serious action.

The figure is, in fact, nil."

It seems that the letters are generated automatically when a "nil payment" submission has not been received by HMRC.

HMRC told Accountancy Age that these letters were being sent out, because HMRC was becoming more efficient in chasing debts.

So that's alright then!

This doesn't waste resources (eg HMRC's time in sorting the problem out, businesses time in responding, call centre time in answering complaints etc) then???

Ellen Green, an independent accountant, called the HMRC helpline and was told by call centre staff that there was a lack of morale in the front office as a result of the problems the letters are causing.

She was also told that contact names on the letter were made up.

However, as HMRC said, these letters are because HMRC is now more efficient in chasing debts!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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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 Featured on BBC's Watchdog

The BBC have posted a summary of last night's Watchdog programme about HMRC on their website here.

For reasons that are beyond my limited technical ability, I am unable to see the video clip of the programme on the site.

C'est la vie!

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

Repugnant

The nature and definition of a "reasonable excuse" wrt tax issues has been highlighted by Geraint Jones QC (who oversaw 4 hearings into late payment penalties imposed by HMRC).

Accountancy Age reports that he found in favour of 3 cases:

- Anthony Leachman,
- Ballysillan Community Forum and
- NA Dudley Electrical Contractors.

He relied on a European Court of Human Rights ruling that stated the penalties imposed by HMRC were "in the nature of a criminal penalty".

As such, he said HMRC must "satisfy me to the criminal standard" – beyond reasonable doubt – that it was an unreasonable mistake on the taxpayer's behalf that filing did not take place.

Jones is quoted:

"HMRC argues that a 'reasonable excuse' must be some exceptional circumstance which prevented timeous filing.

That, as a matter of law, is wrong.

If Parliament had intended to say that the penalty would not be due only in exceptional circumstances, it would have said so in those terms."

However, he didn't stop there in admonishing HMRC. He also noted that HMRC, by imposing a second penalty while deliberately failing to send reminder about the first penalty, was trying to take advantage of its own default.

"In my judgment, it is not open to HMRC to take advantage of its own default in sending a timeous default notice to a taxpayer.

That would offend the common law principle of fairness and most right-thinking members of the public would find it repugnant, especially on the part of a public body."

As noted before on this site, the trust between HMRC and the taxpayer has broken down. HMRC by acting in this "repugnant" fashion, by trying to profit from its own failings in communications, has further undermined its reputation with the taxpayers.

A public body, and the state, can only function in a democracy if the voters/taxpayers have a degree of trust in that body. When that trust breaks down the state, public body or democracy will be swept away.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

The Light Touch

The Telegraph reports that HMRC is to reform its "drawn out and costly" inspection procedures.

HMRC now intends to "throw the book at" firms suspected of avoiding (not that avoidance is illegal) multiple taxes, while treating honest traders with a light touch.

Should not honest traders have been treated "lightly" anyway?

It seems that HMRC has recognised that it is now the "modus operandi" for multiple inspectors would make a compliance visits in consecutive months.

Hardly an effective use of scarce resources, nor does it help the hard pressed business focus on earning money to pay its taxes.

HMRC are quoted:

"We want to get off the back of honest businesses."

As such a new inspection process will be tested for six months from June. If successful, it will be rolled out nationally from January.

David Gauke, Exchequer Secretary, mastering in the bleeding obvious and using the "C" word is also quoted:

"We know that agents, individuals and businesses find some of HMRC's current compliance practices drawn out and costly.

A single compliance process could help HMRC improve the customer experience and reduce costs."

"Innocent, until proven guilty" is a basic principle of English law, unless you are under the gimlet eye of HMRC.

As to whether the new inspection process actually improves things for the taxpayer, remains to be seen. Please let me know your experiences (good and bad) of the new process.

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

Trust

Anthony Thomas will takeover as President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) at today's AGM.

His inaugural speech will highlight the importance of trust between the public and HMRC.

CIOT quote him:

"A fair tax system requires respect on both sides.

HMRC are at risk of damaging the trust that has been built up over centuries between tax payers and tax collectors."

His speech will cover:

- The attitude of HMRC to the rule of law;
- The impact of ever-increasing HMRC powers;
- HMRC's operational performance in recent years

He is right, trust is essential both between HMRC and taxpayers and between the government and the voters in order for democracy to continue to function in this country.

Undermine that trust and you undermine the foundations of democracy.

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

Debt Collection - Watchdog

The BBC's Watchdog programme will be featuring HMRC this week.

The programme will report on HMRC officials threatening to auction people's possessions in order to settle tax bills.

The episode will air this Thursday, 19 May at 20:00 on BBC One.

Watchdog's contact details can be accessed here contact Watchdog.

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

Blogger Outage - Twogging

Hi Folks

Sorry for being off the air for a couple of days. However, Blogger (owned by Google) on which my sites are published fell over.

Functionality is now gradually being restored. However, it is possible that there may be further service interruptions.

During the outage I posted short "Twogs" (Tweet/Blogs) on Twitter @ken_frost

Ken

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

Simples! - Two Steps Back

The ACCA, having reviewed the first year in office of the coalition, have stated that the government has taken "two steps back for every one step forward" in simplifying the tax system.

Accountancy Age quote Chas Roy-Chowdhury, ACCA's head of taxation:

"The Government is committed to simplifying the tax system, which is commendable, but so many changes in one year don't help matters. Hopefully more changes now mean fewer later. If government really wants to simplify the system it needs to avoid tinkering at the same time as simplifying."

I am afraid that he has made a fundamental error in assuming that the government really wishes to simplify the tax system. Politicians thrive on complexity and tinkering.

For why?

They need to prove to the hapless voters that they have a purpose and a function in life, and divert the voters' attention, lest we realise that it is the politicians who have caused the mess in the first place.

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

The Art of Letter Writing

My thanks to a loyal reader who penned me an amusing email about a letter that she received the other day in the post.

The letter was, so I am advised, a tad shoddy.

The letter claimed to come from HMRC, yet it did not look terribly professional or authentic:

- The envelope had been hand-scrawled

- The letter was on cheap copier paper

- There was a low-res HMRC logo, clearly ripped from the internet and bastardised

- There was a blank space under "your reference number"

- The letter was littered with spelling and grammar mistakes eg; "this will have an effect on your natioanl insurance account", "youve been refferrred to us" and "you detailswill be added"

- The letter was dated 2009

Needless to say this letter was "obviously" a scam (akin to the ongoing email scam that purports to come from HMRC).

Being a good citizen, my loyal reader rang HMRC to report the scam.

Can you guess what happened next children?

Yes, that's right, the letter was not in fact a scam it really had come from HMRC!

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

Physician Heal Thyself

As we all know HMRC has had a few problems (eg cost overruns, project delays, technical glitches, data loss etc) wrt its Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

The Cabinet Orifice has recognised that one of the problems with ICT matters (Whitehall wide) is the exclusion of SMEs from government business and project meetings.

Therefore HMRC, at the behest of the Cabinet Orifice, has told Capgemini to include SMEs in project meetings in Whitehall (Capgemini subcontracts the HMRC £8.5BN Aspire contract to over 240 suppliers).

Another fundamental problem with large IT contracts, where SMEs are excluded from project meetings etc, is the danger of outsourcing firms inflating prices and suppressing innovation (ie ripping the taxpayer off).

Mark Hall, deputy CIO at HMRC, is quoted by Computer Weekly:

"We have started a new process called Tripartite.

Which is where we were always challenged, around getting everybody to the table.

So now when we have conversations, the prime contractor, ourselves and the SME delivering the goods are in the same conversation.

We are working around cost savings and working very closely and collaboratively with the cabinet office. This is not just about what we can negotiate, its about what UK government can negotiate."

HMRC are also looking to identify where its expenditure is delivering value.

Hall says:

"This is quite challenging for supply chains because it demands transparency."

Seemingly, on top of "Lean", the new word in HMRC's "management speak" is "Agile".

LOL!

Well good luck to them trying to improve the performance of their outsourced contractors.

However, some may be tempted to suggest that HMRC also needs to improve its own internal performance.

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

Busy Weekend!

Judging by the 106 comments that my Friday article "Sinister" attracted, it appears that some of my loyal readers have had a very busy weekend!

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

Sinister

The Conservative MP for Wycombe, Steve Baker, is none too impressed with the tone and "style" of HMRC's debt collection letters.

He is quoted by MoneyMarketing:

"It is a hell of a tone to take. The assumption is you are a wrong 'un, so here is the full weight of the harshest letter we can send you.

We now have the state publicly backing and using scientific techniques of behavioural psychology to extract what it wants.

It is sinister.

You could dismiss it as a crazy conspiracy theory if it were not online with Cabinet Office written on it."

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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 - P11D Problems

AccountingWeb report that there are problems with filing P11D's online on HMRC's website.

HMRC state that they are investigating the issue with their IT partners.

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

The Bleedin' Obvious

The Treasury select committee published its report on the Finance Bill on 2 May, based on findings made by ICAEW, ACCA and CIoT.

Accountancy Age quote Barry Murphy, tax partner at PwC, who said that the very fact that three institutes have had to work out the impact of the Budget suggests that the tax system is still overly complex.

No kidding!

"The Treasury committee's report has reiterated a consistent theme of small businesses struggling to access the right accounting and tax advice so that they do not get caught out by complex new rules," he said.

Whether all taxpayers are able to access the right advice and pay the right amount of tax could perhaps serve as a good litmus test for HMRC's stated ambition to work more openly with advisers and taxpayers."

The politicians are responsible for the mess that is our tax system, and the ongoing shambles within HMRC. Sadly they show little sign of being able/willing to clean that mess up.

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"

Printer Problems

Taxation reports that HMRC have been having a wee bit of bother with their printer.

It seems that approximately 40,000 SA316 notices, intended to remind taxpayers to submit a self assessment tax return for the year 2010/11, were sent out showing the incorrect tax year for the return required:

- 2009/10, rather than 2010/11!

The error allegedly occurred in the Fujitsu Print centre, resulting in the SA316 notices being put into the wrong batch.

Those who receive the erroneous 2009/10 reference will be sent a letter of apology, a new SA316 notice and be asked to destroy the original notice.

Altogether now!

"I line up all the letters with spaces in between,
And clamp them in the printing press a wonderful machine.
Posters are in capitals, bold and fat and tall,
But the printing in the daily news is often rather small.

Now the inky roller comes down the type and back,
And makes the letters ready to be printed clear and black.
I check the pile of paper for every single sheet,
Will be printed by the inky type with letters clear and neat.

When they have a flag day I print the little flags,
Notices and labels and even paper bags.
I make the letters stand up straight and keep the paper clean,
Then the job will be as good as anyone has seen."

(Factoid: Mr Munnings is the printer in Trumpton and the above is his song)

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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"