RTI Change Request At The Eleventh Hour

With 36 days to go until the introduction of Real Time Information (RTI), businesses are gradually waking up to what this may mean.

Payroll World reports that the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called for an easing of the reporting requirements for RTI, so that firms only need to submit data to HMRC once a month in order to reduce the cost burden on SME's.

The FSB’s proposal is to replace RTI with ‘Regular Time Information’, under which employers could submit returns once a month and which would help businesses with weekly payrolls, for example.

Sadly, for the FSB, this request is being made far too late in the day for it to be considered. The reality is the RTI is the flagship of HMRC and the government's Universal Credits. In the event RTI fails, both HMRC and the government will be holed below the water line.

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



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"

Donald Toon Misrepresented

Following on from my article about Donald Toon's Economia quoted comments on "avoidance" it seems that, according to HMRC, Toon was misrepresented by The Times from where Economia sourced the quote.

As per a Tweet sent to me moments ago by Helen Roxburgh of Economia:

"@ken_frost FYI, I heard back from HMRC - they said it was a misrepresentation by the Times. Have changed our story accordingly."

HMRC contend that Toon was misrepresented, and was referring to evasion not avoidance. I wonder why HMRC didn't rush to correct the error themselves, instead of being prodded to do so by the media that reported it?


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



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"

Hypothetical Case Study

My thanks to a loyal reader for posting this hypothetical case study in the comment section of yesterday's article:

"Hypothetical situation:-

A manager known to be a bully with a record of appalling staff mistreatment and proven cases against him/her, who had caused a potential risk by social network "naivety" and who had several recent records of complaints and grievances against him/her with a trail of staff suffering from stress absences and transfer out or resignation is in the evidential chain, also other managers are accused of criminal and/or civil law breaking..."

How should this be professionally handled by HMRC management, were this situation reality and not hypothetical?

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



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"

David Gauke's Tax Avoidance Scheme

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



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 Looney Toon

I was surprised and disturbed to read yesterday that Donald Toon, director of criminal investigation at HMRC, has told wealthy professionals they will be “caught and dealt with” if they "avoid" tax.

To use such threatening language over tax avoidance (not evasion) seems somewhat extreme, does Toon not know that avoidance is legal or did he "mis-speak"?

To further compound the confusion Toon then went on to highlight the forthcoming sentencing of London barrister, Rohan Pershad, who failed to pay more than £600,000 in VAT.

Toon was quoted by Economia:

“The case will have a direct impact.

That no matter your professional status, you can face criminal investigation and prosecution."

Fair enough, except that the case referred to relates to evasion not avoidance.

He then had a go at those lawyers, doctors and accountants who he accused of “arrogantly” believing that HMRC would not take criminal action against them if they avoided paying tax.

Was Toon misquoted, or was he really directing his comments at tax avoiders?

UPDATE

HMRC contend that this was a misrepresentation.


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



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 Lean Gobbledygook

My thanks to a loyal reader who posted the following comment and link to a "lean website" this morning:

"To illustrate how far along their pacesetter journey that they have travelled HMRC will force its staff to use an on-line Australian website rather than the 17 pages of hmrcintranet crap on the subject...

http://www.leanonline.com.au/blog272/Lean-Speak---Glossary-of-Lean-Terms.html

confused yet? Try this:

"Sequential Changeover"

"When a changeover time is within Takt time, changeovers can be performed one after another in a flow line. Sequential changeover assures that the lost time for each process in the line is minimised to one Takt beat. A set-up team or expert follows the operator, so that by the time the operator has made one round of the flow line (at Takt time), it has been completely changed over to the next item."

WTF!?

There you have it then. LOL

Ken & readers, you should have realised by now that the system is a modern form of pyramid selling or MLM/multi-level-marketing combined with scientology. It's the worldwide "buy-in" that worries me and many others. Trouble is the "buy-in" has been with taxpayers hard-earned, declared and paid taxes."

In case anyone is wondering, Takt time is:

"The pace at which operational value streams have to meet customer demand.
Value Stream Takt = Available Time / Customer Orders"

Pass the sickbag someone.

As loyal readers are well aware, Toyota (the company that created "Lean") is a Lean "success" story!

Please tell me that this is just a joke, and that taxpayers' money is not really being used to "buy into" this crap?

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



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 Goes Fishing

It seems that HMRC has gone on one of its little fishing trips again. This time it is trawling the waters inhabited by landlords.

Mike Down, of Baker Tilly, is quoted by the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) as describing the recent campaign by HMRC to crackdown on rogue landlords as "shocking" and "scarily aggressive".

Down claims to have seen a "stencilled" letter which had been sent to one landlord client. Down made clear that this landlord had been perfectly compliant when declaring his rental income. The information used to contact the landlord had been supplied by a local council.

The letter reportedly asked for a thorough breakdown of all the properties owned by the landlord, including addresses, periods let, the amounts of rent involved and the number of tenants at each property.

Down was quoted:

"Clearly it's good to see HMRC cracking down on tax cheats, but we do have real concerns over what appears to be the non-risk-based approach of this campaign.

What's even more shocking is that telephone staff at HMRC are openly admitting that the probing letters are being issued without the department having first checked whether the landlord is in fact fully declaring the rents on their annual tax returns.

Quite aside from the fact that questions asked of taxpayers who have completed returns under Self-Assessment must be made under the formal and time-sensitive enquiry framework, it seems that HMRC staff are unnecessarily wasting the time of law-abiding taxpayers, as well as their own valuable people resource.

Surely it's time HMRC were more careful with their precious resources and invested time in carefully checking third-party information before sending what might be viewed as scarily aggressive letters to those who are fully tax compliant?"

Have any loyal readers received such letters?

Please drop me a line if you have.

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



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"

ESC A19 To Go The Way of The Dodo

I see that This Is Money reports that HMRC wants to send ESC A19 "the way of the dodo" (as per the quote from an HMRC spokesman).

Dodos aside, the spokesman went on to say:

"ESC A19 itself can no longer apply in all but a handful of cases as we reconcile all cases at the end of the tax year."

HMRC's desire to abandon ESC A19 should come as no surprise, as the threat to ESC A19 has been noted several times on this site eg last July.

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



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 RTI Nightmare - Advice Sought

The ICAEW Forum has published the following request for advice on RTI from an SME that provides payroll services:

"I run a small professional practice in partnership with my wife.  We have no staff.  We provide a payroll bureau service to a small number of clients with staff numbers between 1 and 17 employees. 

Up to now, this service has been trouble free and and our clients have been understanding of our occasional absences on holiday.

But now we have RTI!

Under RTI, returns must be made before or when a payment is made to a member of staff.  If a return is not made the client is in default and a penalty will apply.

There are practical problems.  Although a return can be submitted in advance under RTI this is not practical where hourly paid staff are involved as pay details are not known in advance.

RTI would therefore appear to require that we are available to file the clients FPS which means that we can never be away at the end of any month.  An alternative problem would be the unforeseeable occasion of a client dismissing a member of staff and wanting to make a payment whilst we are away and so cannot deal with the required FPS.  

Can we go away at all?

Does this mean that, in our clients' interests, we must withdraw our payroll service as we cannot undertake to provide a service for at least every working day of the year?

If it does this will affect a great number of small practices.

The same applies to clients with in-house payroll systems but only one member of staff who operates the payroll.  How will they deal with holidays and unexpected events.

RTI is, in concept, a sensible move as far as the government is concerned, but HMRC do not seem to be paying the slightest attention to small businesses - as usual!

Does anybody have any practical observations as to how to deal with such situations?

Kit Millington-Hore"

Advice and comments are, as always, very welcome.

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



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 Silence of The Hams

As per the ICAEW IT Faculty:

"Frank Haskew - asking HMRC how they came up with savings of £300m in their impact assessment - 'deafening silence'"

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



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"

PAC Talks Bollocks

PAC published a report on HMRC today:

"The Public Accounts Committee publishes its 29th Report of this Session which, on the basis of a Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, evidence was taken from HM Revenues and Customs, Tax Trade, Future Capital Partners and Ingenious Media on marketed tax avoidance schemes."

Who pray tell are "HM Revenues and Customs"????

That ignorant snafu aside, Hodge has called for the naming and shaming of individuals and companies who sell or use tax avoidance schemes.

Bollocks!

Such an action would create a nice little bit of free publicity for those who sell the schemes, and a list of names that would include many/most of those who sit in Parliament.

STEMCOR!!!!!

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



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"

Here Come The Penalties - 850,000 of Them!

By February 20, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will have completed a mail-out of £100 fixed fines to around 850,000 taxpayers.

That is of course just the tip of the iceberg, as there will be additional fines for those who further delay filing and payments etc!

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



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"

Beaker's Significant Tool

I am highly gemused to see that our political masters and HMRC have something of a sense of humour, and have published in advance their April Fools' Day joke.

I refer of course to Danny "Beaker" Alexander's "Significant Tool", aka HMRC's Tax and Procurement Discussion Document. This "fine" document came about as a result of Beaker's comments on 25th September 2012 about "tax dodgers":

"Taxpayers’ money should not be funding tax dodgers. So I have tasked HMRC and the Cabinet Office to come up with a workable solution to this problem and we will set out more details later this year."

The document proposes that individuals and businesses that have taken part in tax avoidance could be denied government contracts.

Potential suppliers will be required to notify contracting departments of their recent tax compliance history and state if any return has been found to be incorrect as a result of HMRC successfully challenging it under the general anti-abuse rule (as per the Finance Bill 2013),  an anti-avoidance rule, or the Halifax abuse principle.

Government departments will be allowed to terminate an agreement if the service provider subsequently breaches tax compliance obligations.

For good measure the proposals are to operate retrospectively, with (as per Taxation) a possible a ten-year time limit relating to the date the non-compliance was recognised.

In the event that anyone has any comments on the proposals, they should be submitted by email no later than 28 February to HMRC's David Harris or Robert Sanford.

Good luck with that then!

On the subject of tax avoidance etc, Mapeley anyone?

How ironic that HMRC, a staunch and shouty opponent of tax avoidance had in fact signed a contract that involves tax avoidance through an offshore company.

Clearly a case of do as we say, rather than do as we do!

Aside from Mapeley I would wager that a good many companies that our political masters sign contracts with (or indeed have shares in, or sit on the boards of) are doing their best to reduce their tax bills (ie avoiding taxes).


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



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"

Out of The Box - HMRC's 7,000 Tablets

As HMRC moves towards its paperless dream, it will hand out 7,000 tablets and laptops to employees in an effort to improve their mobility.

CIO Mark Hall wants the workforce to be more mobile.

Hall told Computer Weekly that HMRC wants to introduce "out of the box" consumer devices.

"The ultimate number will be about 7,000 – but we don’t at the moment know how many of that will be iPads, laptops etc.

We are doing a piece with HR at the moment about mobile working, and how we can make our VAT inspectors more mobile, for example.”

An initial iPad pilot is taking place with a dozen HMRC executives.

“Then we will pause and reflect and look at user cases for the next tranche. Once we are ready, we will move quite quickly.” 

Those of you who are worried about another Datagate occurring should sleep peacefully. Seemingly the devices will work on non-restricted information, classified at Impact Level 2 security levels and below. HMRC will also work closely with the government security arm CESG, to ensure that security will not be compromised.

No worries then!

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



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"

NAO Valentine's Message To HMRC - Get a Grip!

"The tax credit system is complicated, and HMRC will have to overcome significant challenges if it is going to achieve value for money. 

HMRC deserves credit for demonstrating innovation, but it has further to go to achieve sustainable reductions in tax credits error and fraud. To tackle error and fraud effectively, there needs to be an improved understanding of risks and better use of information."  Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, 14 February 2013.

HMRC has significantly overestimated the impact of its interventions on the level of error and fraud:

"In 2009, HMRC announced a target to reduce error and fraud to 5 per cent by 2010-11, down from 9 per cent. HMRC missed this target. Error and fraud losses for 2010-11 were just over 8 per cent, amounting to almost £2.3 billion, around £850 million higher than if HMRC had achieved the target. 

Today's report concludes that, while HMRC has made improvements to its approach and increased the amount of error and fraud it prevents, HMRC is not yet achieving value for money.

HMRC believed it was on track to meets its target, but had overestimated the impact of its activities to tackle error and fraud. It estimated that it had prevented £1.4 billion of error and fraud in 2010-11, but has revised this to under £500 million.

HMRC has not yet developed an effective response to stop error and fraud recurring after it has corrected a claim."

In other words:

Get a Grip!

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



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 Moves To Siam

It seems that HMRC is rethinking its approach to IT, or rather more specifically its approach to outsourcing its IT development. Computer Weekly reports that HMRC intends to double the number of its software developers to 600, in a bid to reduce its reliance on companies such as Capgemini and its existing Aspire contract.

The plan is to increase the number of its in-house software development team by 300 over the next 3 years, as the Aspire contract expires in 2017.

Mark Hall, HMRC's CIO, said that HMRC will not renew the Aspire contract in its current form. That's remarkably open of him, given that HMRC claim that they do not like disclosing contractual details lest it disadvantage them:

"...disclosure of commercially sensitive information could undermine the commercial interests of both parties and potentially the efficacy of the agreement we have with our contracted supplier."

Anyhoo, Hall is quoted:

“My piece is to work toward 2017 and how to build capability internally around commercial, business analysis, digital capability and adopting agile methodologies.
We are looking at the role of the in-house team. Currently we have around 300 people working as software developers, we are looking to double that over the next three years and build an ecosystem of SMEs around them.”

An "ecosystem of SME's"...hmmm, what does that mean?

He then went on to talk about a "slide path":

“This isn’t about looking to in-source everything, but moving to a more mixed environment

We don’t want a big procurement, and we are trying to create a slide path toward internal capability.”

Hall says that the future of HMRC lies in Siam (system integration and management model), either HMRC itself would take it on or it would use a supplier to do it.

There is of course a fly in HMRC's oinkment, suppliers are reluctant to take on Siam in government because they view it as the most risky and least lucrative option.

The plans of mice, men and 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



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"

RTI Cometh

As loyal readers know, HMRC's flagship RTI is due to set sail this April.

Unfortunately, many people are as yet unaware that this mighty vessel is soon to set sail and have yet to organise their affairs accordingly.

As such HMRC is writing to all employers to give them guidance on what needs to be done, as HMRC has realised that people are "blissfully" unaware and unprepared for RTI (Real Time Information).

HMRC has its work cut out for itself, because a survey of 126 SMEs in January showed that  96% of companies or their clients had no knowledge of the changes, or those who do, had no idea of its implementation.

Rather alarmingly for HMRC, aside from the real world not being aware of or ready for RTI, it seems that HMRC are not ready for it either. As per PAC in December 2012:

"HMRC did not convince us that it will manage the potential increase in its workload or that it had fully considered the impact on taxpayers."

However, Lin Homer is optimistic and is quoted by Economia:



“PAYE directly affects every employee in the country and that is why it is vital that it reflects, on time and accurately, the tax circumstances of the millions of employees who depend on the system to get their tax right.
 

RTI delivers on all fronts. 

Business costs will be cut by £300m a year, employees will be taxed more accurately and fraud and error in the tax credit system will be reduced by hundreds of millions of pounds every year. 

Employers can find all the information they need on our website about moving onto the new system, and small businesses can download our free software to help them get ready. Businesses should act now to be ready for April, when RTI comes in.”

Anyhoo, here are some HMRC links that are meant to help you prepare for RTI.

God bless all who sail in her!

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



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 Refunds Taxpayers Twice!

Last week I wrote that some people who had tried to pay their tax bills via Santander's BillPay system had been charged twice. As per HMRC:

"At the end of January, Santander experienced technical problems with their BillPay system resulting in some people making more than one payment. We have already started repaying overpaid tax to those affected and we expect to have this work completed by tomorrow. 

Santander will cover any bank charges incurred by HMRC customers as a consequence of this incident."

It now seems that some of those same people, who HMRC refunded to correct the error, have been refunded twice.

The Telegraph reports the case of Mr Jones, an insurance broker from Leicestershire, who had almost £20,000 taken from his bank account last Thursday when his tax bill was charged twice.

HMRC have since apologised and have repaid his tax bill – twice. Mr Jones said:

“I worry now they will take both payments back and I’ll be back to square one.

I think they rushed to get the payment returned to me, and then someone processed it again. It’s just unbelievable.” 

A spokesman for HMRC said:

"We apologise to Mr Jones for the repayment issued to him in error. We can't comment on individual cases but have contacted him to say sorry.”

Has anyone else been double refunded, if so please let me know?

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



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"

NAO Report On HMRC's Cost Savings

"In 2011-12 HMRC maintained its performance while reducing staff and spending but it is too early to tell what the long-term impact of cost reduction will be."

That is the overriding conclusion of the National Audit Office (NAO) report published yesterday entitled "HM Revenue and Customs: Progress on reducing costs".

Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said:

"In one year, HMRC has managed to deliver a third of the savings it is required to deliver over the four years of the spending period, at the same time as maintaining performance in key areas such as maintaining tax collection and reducing tax debt.

HMRC is moving from making tactical efficiency savings and quick wins towards a more strategic approach to managing its resources. We recognise the importance of this change and note that HMRC is addressing PAC and NAO recommendations in the process. The big challenge ahead will be to make more and deeper spending reductions without impairing its performance."

HMRC made £296 million of savings in 2011-12, exceeding its target by 19%:

• It reduced staff numbers by 2,400 full-time equivalents and improved staff productivity, saving £140M.

• The government froze pay increases for which HMRC had budgeted in 2011-12, saving £29M.

• HMRC reduced the price it paid for IT equipment, such as laptops, and services, such as IT support helplines, by £74M.

• HMRC vacated 118 buildings fully and 28 partially, reducing the size of its estate by 138,000 square metres and resulting in savings of £26.8M.

• It reduced the cost of other contracts, such as those for postage and printing, by, for example, reducing the amount of unnecessary information HMRC sends to customers, saving around £26M.

HMRC needs to make new savings of £585M a year by 2014-15 as well as maintain those savings already made. At September 2012, HMRC was on track to exceed its 2012-13 cost reduction target by £29M. However, the reduction in planned savings being delivered by change projects means that HMRC needs to find £66M more savings than it originally planned through other initiatives. As at July 2012, HMRC had not fully worked out where these additional savings in 2013-14 and beyond would come from.

A spokesman for HMRC told the BBC:

"We are now taking a more strategic approach to managing our resources resulting in us answering phone calls faster and turning post around more quickly than ever before."

All fine and dandy, maybe.

However, I have a question on the subject of cost reduction for both HMRC and the NAO, why does HMRC pay £8 per lever arch file?

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



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 £8 Lever Arch Files - FOI Answer

Loyal readers will recall that in January this year I submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to HMRC, asking for details of the price that they pay for lever arch files:

"Following on from last week's article about the £8 paid per unit by HMRC for lever arch files, in the absence of any response from HMRC/Number 10 or the Treasury to my tweet requesting details about the costs, I have submitted an FOI to HMRC requesting the unit price of said files.

It will be interesting to see what form of response I receive."

Yesterday I received a response from HMRC.

The good news is that they know the price that they pay for lever arch files.

Hoozah!

The bad news is that they won't tell me, lest it prejudice the commercial interests of HMRC.

Boo!

Here is HMRC's reply (doubtless filed in one of those £8 lever arch files!):

"Information Policy & Disclosure
Room 1C/23
100 Parliament Street
London   
SW1A 2BQ

Mr K Frost
[FOI #145496 email]  Phone
020 7147 0034  Fax
020 7147 0666  www.hmrc.gov.uk
  Date
6 February 2013 Our ref 
1047/13  DX 
     Your ref  Dear Mr Frost

I refer to your request which we received on 14 January 2013, for the following information:
  "… the latest expenditure figures that detail the unit cost to the taxpayer of purchasing
lever arch files for use by HMRC."

I can confirm HMRC holds this information but it is being withheld under Section 43(2), of The Freedom of Information Act 2000. This exemption allows a public authority to withhold information if disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it). 
We consider disclosure of such commercially sensitive information could weaken the
relationship between ourselves and the contracted supplier. In applying this exemption, we have had to balance the public interest in withholding the information against the public interest in disclosure.

I accept there is a strong public interest in HMRC being as transparent as possible about its contracts with commercial entities, and the public have a right to know that the public purse is being expended wisely and also that departments are getting value for money. Disclosing the requested information would demonstrate HMRC’s willingness to be open about its contractual arrangements.

However, disclosure of commercially sensitive information could undermine the commercial interests of both parties and potentially the efficacy of the agreement we have with our contracted supplier. Furthermore, it could have an inhibiting effect on other third parties currently, or potentially, doing business with Government departments and therefore on the Government’s ability to secure value for money, which would not be in the public interest.
Release of information which could damage companies commercially would discourage them from dealing with the public sector and would undermine the necessary mutual trust and respect between private and public sector partners.

Information is available in large print, audio and Braille formats. 
Text Relay service prefix number – 18001
 
So on balance I conclude it is not in the public interest to set aside the exemption.

If you are not happy with this reply you may request a review by writing to HMRC FOI Team, Room 1C/23, 100 Parliament Street London SWIA 2BQ or email [email address].
You must request a review within 2 months of the date of this letter. It would assist our review if you set out which aspects of the reply concern you and why you are dissatisfied.  
If you are not content with the outcome of an internal review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner will not usually consider a case unless you have exhausted the internal review procedure provided by HMRC. He can be contacted at The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely .."

Well then!

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



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"

"Lin Homer" Writes

I have just received this email from "Lin Homer".

Is the $15M tax free?

"From: Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary

HM Revenue & Customs - 100 Parliament Street

London, SW1A 2BQ. United Kingdom

Department:  Audit and Risk Committee Team

Telephone: 070 4577 2860 (Int:+447045772860)

Telephone: 070 4577 9897 (Int:+447045779897)

Message: Sole Beneficiary

File Code: RC/8366-32

This is to inform you that your fund payment requirements were forwarded to our agency for correction before payment. During the course of our investigation, we discovered that you have been indulged into various dubious/fraudulent bank transactions which have taken advantage of your transaction through the use of office bureaucratic processes to impose unnecessary charges on your fund payment in order to get you frustrated to their own advantage. Due to these reasons, we have reviewed more cases of delayed payments including your records and have decided to assist our local financial institutions in resolving and releasing most individual unpaid funds in United Kingdom which includes contract/inheritance funds, gambling/lottery awarded funds (sponsored by multinational companies) and other international suspended/withheld funds yet to be paid to its beneficiary's foreign account.

In view of the above, our defense strategy has yielded a voluminous result through immense resolution of financial issues with local and foreign financial units involved in your case and our extensive investigation confirmed that you are the original beneficiary shortlisted to receive an unpaid sum of $15,000,000.00 USD meant to be credited into your foreign account pending your acknowledgment in the provision of the requirements needed for an international and final payment of your fund.

Further to this development, you are advised to only provide a scanned copy of your driver's license or international passport (any identification document) and your residential address for postal delivery. If non of these requirements is received within 45 days, you will never be paid and this fund will be made to be forfeited under the Money Laundering and other Financial Crime Prohibition Act of 2003. Also note that due to my position as the Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary of the HM Revenue & Customs, I will not always be available to answer any of your calls because I am not always in my office. If you have any issue to discuss regarding your funds, kindly email me and i will always get back to you as soon as possible.

Make sure to forward all inquires and requirements as instructed for confirmation.

Yours Sincerely,

Ms. Lin Homer.

(Chief Executive Officer).

HM Revenue & Customs."

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



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"

Taxpayers Pay HMRC Twice

Last week's Sandtander/HMRC tax BillPay snafu has had another repercussion. It appears that taxpayers who used the system had their tax bill debited more than once from their bank accounts.

HMRC are, apparently, aware of the problem.

A spokesman for HMRC is quoted by the Telegrpah:

“At the end of January, Santander experienced technical problems with their BillPay system resulting in some people making more than one payment. We have already started repaying overpaid tax to those affected and we expect to have this work completed by tomorrow. 

Santander will cover any bank charges incurred by HMRC customers as a consequence of this incident.”

Please let me know if you were affected.

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



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 To Take Control of Pay Cheques? - Another Clusterfuck!

Now here's a plan (originally mooted in 2010 that appears to have resurfaced) that is guaranteed to fail, if it is enacted.

HMRC are, quite rightly, concerned that the PAYE system is not fit for purpose and want to reform it.

One plan being considered is whereby employers, instead of deducting income tax then paying gross salaries to employees, would pay the gross monthly payment to an HMRC-run tax “calculator”, which would then pass the net salary to the worker; ie employers would hand over the responsibility for paying the correct net pay to HMRC.

Aha!
 

The plan would mean the end of traditional monthly payslips, because employers would no longer be able to tell workers how much tax they had paid each month.

Reform of PAYE is most certainly required, because inaccurate data will again affect millions of people this year who will be forced to pay back underpaid tax, and millions of others who will get rebates.

Anyhoo, wrt the proposed "plan" instead of a payslip detailing pay and deductions, employees would only find out how much income tax they had paid by asking HMRC.

Oh dear!

Brian Stenhouse of Armstrong Watson was quoted in 2010 by the Telegraph saying that people should have “deep concerns” about the central deductions plan.

“Are people going to be happy to give HMRC their bank details and trust HMRC to make the right deductions and pass on their salary every month? 

Given they’re not going to have a complete monthly payslip any more, people are going to be in dark about what’s been deducted. And if there is an error, they’d be reliant on HMRC to correct it.”

Along with RTI, this will be another clusterfuck waiting to happen! 

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



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"