HMRC Recruits for GAAR Panel

HMRC is now recruiting members for a permanent General Anti-Abuse Rule advisory panel.

There are eight voluntary positions, which are intended to initially be for 3 years.

The panel will meet 6 times a year, and it is expected appointments will be made shortly after the interview process is completed in the week beginning 17 June.

Here is the full text of the advert:

"Applications are invited from suitably qualified and experienced individuals to be a member of the General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) Advisory Panel.

The functions of the Advisory Panel are to:

• Approve HMRC’s guidance on the GAAR
• By way of specifically arranged sub-Panels, give opinions to HMRC and taxpayers about the application of the GAAR to individual cases referred to the Panel

The work of the Advisory Panel, including this recruitment process, is led by the Chair, Patrick Mears, who was appointed with effect from 15th April 2013.

This is a voluntary position (necessarily incurred expenses will be paid) that offers a unique opportunity to play a central role in the implementation of a major new development in UK tax legislation. Initial appointments will be for 3 years, but some flexibility is possible and can be discussed with individuals.

Each Panel Member will be expected to have knowledge and expertise in relation to one or more of the taxes covered by the GAAR, and be committed to making the GAAR legislation as enacted work efficiently and effectively. The aim is for the Panel to be a broad based, balanced and cohesive; the number of Panel Members is flexible in order to meet these objectives, but the expectation is for a maximum number of 8 initial appointments.

The time commitment for the approval of guidance function will be around 6 Panel meetings a year and preparatory reading. Further workload will depend on the number of cases referred. When a sub-Panel is arranged for a referred case, discussion will take place in advance over any additional time commitment.

For an application pack please click on the Apply button.  Applications, to be made by 5pm on 10 June 2013.

It is anticipated that interviews will be held during the week of 17th June 2013 (please indicate in your application any time in this week when you would be unavailable for interview). Appointments will be made as soon as possible after the interviews, subject to necessary formalities.

Job Reference: GAAR"

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Hanging On The Telephone

Courtesy of John Andrews:

"After 12 mins 35 secs a human from @HMRCgovuk answered the phone...today's average is something over 18 mins...yesterday just got cut off."

Would other loyal readers care to comment if this is a record?

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Happy Tax Freedom Day!

This year tax freedom day falls on 30^th May. That is, for 150 days of the year every penny earned by the average UK resident will be taken by the government in tax.

Source The Adam Smith Institute.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Mama Flo's £1BN Tax Bill

Commiserations to Florence Coke, owner of Mama Flo’s in Gorton, who was on the receiving end of an erroneous (humongously erroneous) VAT bill in March this year to the tune of £979M.

She is quoted by the Manchester Evening News:

“It frightened the hell out of me. This is my first time in business and I am naïve, I didn’t know where to turn. It really shook me up.”

The letter from HMRC contained the standard warning:

“If you do not pay or contact us, we can visit your premises in order to arrange for your assets to be sold by public auction.”

Ms Coke immediately called HMRC, which said that it would investigate the matter.

When she had returned from Jamaica after the death of her mother there was some good news, a letter from HMRC apologising for the mistake which also noted that she in fact owed £17K.

Bob Gaiger, HMRC spokesman, said:

“We are very sorry to hear of the problems our customer has had.

We cannot comment on individual cases but when mistakes do happen our aim is to always put them right as soon as we can and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

Fair enough, mistakes happen and HMRC put this right without an unseemly fuss or delay.

However, I wonder how it is that such a large mistake occurred without anyone thinking that it might be an error; given that Mrs Coke runs a relatively modest local business, as opposed to a multi national?

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Hartnett Joins Deloitte

I see that Dave Hartnett has been given permission to join Deloitte (albeit on a part time basis). I seem to recall that Hartnett has in the past criticised Deloitte for tax related issues.

Here is a link to the letter giving permission.

Deloitte New Appointment announced May 2013 Mr Hartnett sought permission to accept a part-time role with Deloitte, which will involve providing advice to overseas tax administrations and governments. When considering the application the Committee noted that Mr Hartnett’s appointment with Deloitte would involve supporting the development of tax administrations in other countries. It was also noted that whilst working in Government, Mr Hartnett did have official dealings with Deloitte, and that he also dealt with a wide range of major accountancy and law firms during his time in HMRC and the Inland Revenue before that. The Prime Minister has accepted the Committee’s recommendation that the application be approved subject to the conditions that he: - should not draw on any privileged information available to him whilst in Crown service; - has no involvement in either a representative or advisory capacity for any taxpayer that he has been involved with whilst at HMRC; - is not involved whilst engaged by Deloitte in any work considering how UK taxation, for any of their clients, can be mitigated or avoided; - has no involvement in negotiation or management of contracts with HMRC; - has no involvement in discussions with other fiscal authorities of UK’s confidential tax policy where he has been involved in that area of work in HMRC; and - does not become personally involved in lobbying Government on behalf of his new employer for two years from his last day of service.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Reasonableness

Accountingweb, in an interesting article, reports that according to a recent Freedom of Information request, there were 13 tax penalties for deliberate behaviour and 3,208 for failure to take reasonable care in relation to self-assessment returns in 2010-2011.

In 2001-2012 the figures rose to 49 and 9,315 respectively. Figures for reasonable excuse are not available, but the published tax tribunal decisions show that such penalties are increasingly common.

Therefore, in the opinion of George Rowell (a barrister at St John’s Chambers specialising in tax disputes), the concept of reasonableness lies at the heart of the new penalty system.

However, the penalty legislation has only a partial definition of reasonableness.

It does not include:

• Insufficiency of funds unless the insufficiency is attributable to events outside the taxpayer’s control, or
• Reliance upon a third party, unless the taxpayer themselves still took reasonable care in relation to his own acts and omissions

Additionally, where the taxpayer has discovered a careless error, or where a reasonable excuse has finished, the taxpayer will still have a defence if he/she remedies the error or failure within a reasonable time thereafter.

As to matters outwith the above, case law and HMRC guidance need to be relied upon.


Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Hodge's Tax Affairs To Be Investigated?

As per Guido Fawkes:

"Breaking: UKIP’s Godfrey Bloom calls on HMRC to investigate MP Margaret Hodge’s tax affairs."

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Beware The Siren Calls

Beware the siren calls of politicians across Europe for a co-ordinated European policy against tax avoidance; their real goal is tax harmonisation and a defacto European state devoid of national parliaments and democracy (as already seen in Greece and Cyprus).

As per Daniel Hannan. 

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

How Are We Doing? - HMRC's Performance 2012/13

HMRC have published a self assessment of its performance against a range of compliance, operational and customer service measures for the financial year ending March 2013.

As per HMRC:

"For the year 2012-13 we achieved record revenues, brought PAYE up to date, and our customer service standards are at their highest levels since HMRC was formed in 2005, including telephone calls answered and our speed in answering post. And we have achieved this while continuing to deliver efficiency savings. These performance figures are provisional and will be confirmed in our annual report and accounts, which are published in June."

Amongst HMRC's boasts are that:

- 75.2% of call attempts were handled (achieving HMRC's undemanding target). Oddly though, there are no stats on call waiting times!
- 85% of post was cleared in 15 days (exceeding HMRC's 80% target)

Therefore everything is fine and dandy?

Not according to HMRC's political masters.

PAC have castigated HMRC over its failure to hit a target of reducing tax credit fraud and error, oddly enough this target isn't mentioned in the HMRC document referred to above.

In 2010 the government told HMRC to cut fraud and error by £8BN by 2015.

HMRC has now predicted that this would only be reduced by £3BN.

PAC are critical of the system which, in the committee's view, is difficult for claimants to understand and equally challenging for HMRC to administer.

The BBC quote a number of statistics:

• One in five awards featured an error or fraud which meant the claimants were overpaid
• A total of £1.7BN of these overpayments was written off because claimants were never likely to pay it back
• Some £2.3BN was lost to fraud and error in 2010-11, which was £850M more than HMRC expected
• A target to reduce the proportion of fraud in relation to the total amount of money spent on tax credits to 5% in 2010-11 was missed. It stood at 8.1%
• The 2015 target, set in the 2010 Spending Review, will now be missed by £5BN, according to HMRC estimates

The omnipresent Margaret Hodge said:

"HMRC's performance in cutting the level of fraud and error in the tax credits system has been hugely disappointing and extremely poor.

The department's failure to cut the fraud and error rate to 5% has cost the taxpayer dear. 

In these strained times, the government cannot afford these failures."

Ironically, having castigated HMRC, PAC then seem to take an intake of breath and admit that HMRC be given a "more realistic target" for reducing fraud and error.

Quite!

Targets are all very well and good, but if they are unachievable and unrealistic they are completely useless and indeed damaging to morale and performance.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Paid Leaks

I see that senior HMRC press officer Jonathon Hall will be charged with allegedly leaking information on the 2010 Budget to The Sun.

When I was a nipper, breaking Budget Purdah was considered to be a flogging offence. Now, sadly, Budget details are leaked as often and in much the same way as the police leak details to the media of people arrested for alleged crimes.

According to economia, Hall and his partner, Marta Bukarewicz, will be charged along with The Sun's Whitehall editor Clodagh Hartley as part of Operation Elveden.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that Hall and Hartley will be charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office over alleged inappropriate payments.

It is alleged that between 30 March 2008 and 15 July 2011 The Sun paid £17,475 to Jonathan Hall, mostly via Marta Bukarewicz, in exchange for the unauthorised disclosure of information obtained as a result of his employment with HMRC.

According to the CPS statement, the information included government plans, unannounced spending and policy decisions relating to the 2010 Budget, plus the coalition government's deficit reduction plans.

Information also related specifically to policy and decision-making within HMRC, including that relating to job losses and casework.

HMRC have not provided a statement to economia.

I wonder if Hall declared these payments in his tax return?

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Database Management

My thanks to a loyal reader who dropped me a note over the weekend concerning HMRC changing her address details (without her permission), and sending her ex husband her tax credit summary for 2012/2013.

She has given me permission to post her email, where she asks for advice.

I have suggested that she writes to her MP and considers contacting the mainstream media.

Please feel free to offer advice, or offer suggestions as to how this could have happened.

"I am absolutely livid with HMRC's incompetent service. Today I received notification from my ex husband that he had received my Tax Credit award summary for April 2012 - April 2013. I separated/divorced him nearly 7 years ago. Up until this point in time I have always received the tax credit awards (and related documents) to my home address. The address at which my ex husband now lives is not one I have ever been associated with. Likewise my ex husband has never been associated with my current address either.

I phoned the HRMC to find an explanation for the clear administration error. The ironic thing is, that in order to speak to someone I had to go through a series of security checks, which included providing 'my' address - however I failed this part of the checks because somehow it now had my ex husbands address! Thankfully the call centre operator changed the address back to mine. She spoke to a manager but neither of them have been able to provide me with an explanation as to why or when the address change was made. They cannot see any record of the change ever being made. Also, why was I not notified of an address change?

I do not want my ex husband knowing what I get paid and how much tax credit I get as it's none of his business. I'm mortified No amount of apology can undo this breech of confidentiality and the fact that he now has that information. 

I'm writing a letter of complaint to HMRC but is there any more I can do? 

Anyone else I can go to?"

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

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



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 Turn of The Seasons

Christmas may come early for some 3.5 million people, who have overpaid their tax in 2012/13 and are now owed refunds by HMRC averaging between £350 and £500.

However, another 2 million people will not be so happy; as they owe HMRC between £400 and £500, because of tax underpayments.

Thus we find ourselves in "year end reconciliation" season again, as HMRC balances its books (so to speak). The reconciliation process returns without fail each year with the depressing inevitability of an unloved season. The reconciliation process is expected to last until October.

The Guardian reports that HMRC has said it is sympathetic to cases of genuine hardship, and those who cannot afford to pay should get in touch. These people may be able to pay what they owe over two or three years.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Well Said Homer!

HMRC’s Homer sticks it to Hodge at #PAC. Says HMRC duty is to collect tax due under law, not what MPs think "fair" tax due should be.

Source

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

PAC - Tax Avoidance

PAC are currently grilling Google and Homer about tax avoidance.

Witness(es): Matt Brittin, Vice President for Sale and Operations, Northern and Central Europe, Google and John Dixon, Head of Tax, Ernst and Young; Lin Homer, Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary, HM Revenue and Customs and Jim Harra, Director General Business Tax, HM Revenue and Customs

Follow it live here.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

UK Uncut Loses Case

UK Uncut Legal Action has lost its High Court action against HMRC.

"Not a glorious episode in history of Revenue."

Now we await the knighthoods and assorted gongs for those in HMRC who helped save Osborne embarrassment.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC's Motley Crew of Defaulters

HMRC have published another list of "deliberate tax defaulters". They are not quite multi million pound evaders, but instead are a rather motley crew; including a kebab shop owner, a painter/labourer and a publican.

All very well, maybe, if this deters people from tax evasion. However, there is a caveat, the people named may now well have "gone straight" and the addresses used may now have no connection with said miscreants!

As per HMRC:

"Please note that each entry on the list is specific to the default dates to which it refers. This address is the one associated with the published person at the time of the default. 

It should not be assumed that tax defaults are currently taking place at the published address or by the published person because, for example: 
- the published person may have changed their behaviour 
- the published person may no longer be at the published address 
- the business currently at the published address may have no connection with published business 
- the business currently at the published address may have the same name as the published business but could be under completely new management"

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Charity Begins at Home

Over a month ago I wrote that HMRC was going to send some of its experts to Pakistan to offer advice on how to increase its tax take.

It seems that, despite the fact the resources are scarce in HMRC's UK operations and that there are room for improvements in service/efficiency etc, Pakistan is not the only country that will receive help from HMRC.

The Guardian reported last week that HMRC will work with Ethiopian and Tanzanian tax authorities to undertake a health check to look at the structure of their revenue authorities, their potential to raise tax, and the degree of corruption or evasion either by individuals or companies.

All very nice and charitable. However, as I have noted before; why don't the HMRC experts stay at home, and help advise HMRC resolve its own issues wrt tax collection?

As the old saying goes, charity begins at home!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Schizophrenic Tax Policies

As loyal readers know, whilst I am critical of HMRC I also regularly point out that much of the blame for HMRC's plight/performance and the shambles of a tax system that we have in this country lies with HMRC's political masters and their hypocrisy wrt tax avoidance etc.

The issue of politics and tax was brought up by John Cridland the Director General of the CBI last week, when he noted that the Government’s claimed pro-enterprise drive, including cutting the corporation tax rate from 28%c to 20% by 2015, is being muddied by its anti avoidance rhetoric directed against companies.

He was quoted by the Telegraph:

“Many UK CEOs of global businesses have had telephone calls from their global CEOs somewhere else on the planet saying, 'We are just a bit confused'.

On the one hand we see this drive to make the UK the most tax-competitive capital in the G20. On the other hand, politicians are increasingly critical of business in Britain as somehow not paying its fair share in tax. 

That confusion of purpose – are we making the UK more tax competitive? Are we sending signals that somehow big business can’t be trusted? – needs reconciling.

But at the same time there’s a schizophrenia here.

Because when the Prime Minister said at Davos, 'Wake up and smell the coffee,’ he was talking to the wider international business community and particularly those operating in the UK.”

That being said, the CBI recognised that businesses need to do more to explain themselves; especially as many politicians have never done a days work in their lives in the real world, and are seemingly completely ignorant of the difference between turnover and profit.

Cridland said:

“My message to business is … get on the front foot and make your case, because it’s not a bad case to make.

My message to Government would be: constructively challenge us, but be clear what endgame you are looking for – which is [that] the UK is [seen as] a great place from which to do global business, and modern transparent tax arrangements that have no room for abuse are a critical part of that, and be clear on your signalling.”

Sadly I suspect the calls to the politicians will fall on deaf ears; the political pygmies that currently inhabit Westminster are dog whistle sound bite chasing individuals who do not lead from the front or by example, and who have no interest in simplifying the chronically complex tax system that we have in place in the his country.

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 Software Failure Affects 140,000 Businesses

According to PayeRTI.org HMRC's RTI software failure is affecting 140,000 businesses.

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 RTI Software Failure

In an irony of all ironies it seems that HMRC’s own Basic PAYE Tools software, a free software package used by some small employers with nine or fewer employees to run their payrolls, is failing to file Real Time Information (RTI) submissions.

PayrollWorld reports that a pre-recorded message on HMRC’s helpline states:

“We’re aware of an issue for some employers trying to submit their RTI returns using HMRC’s Basic PAYE tools. We are investigating this issue and will provide an update early next week. 

Employers should pay their employees as normal even if they have problems with their payroll and can’t submit their PAYE until after they have paid their employees. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”

In some cases an error message is displayed when submitting RTI. 

HMRC has provided some guidance for employers experiencing difficulty submitting RTI using its software here.

Please let me know if you are having any problems submitting RTI data.


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"

Ask Gauke

By happenstance, having been in the news recently wrt Osita Mba, David Gauke will host a Q&A session on 13 May on ICAS Forums (ICAS being the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland).

As per ICAS:

"Treasury Minister David Gauke MP will host a Q&A on the ICAS Forums on Monday 13 May, 9-9.30am, enabling all CAs and students to put their questions to the Government’s go-to man on tax avoidance.

Mr Gauke has been leading the government's effort on tax evasion and avoidance, as these topics come under the spotlight like never before.

This is a fantastic opportunity to ask a key player in the debate about tax avoidance his thoughts on the topic.

Please feel free to post questions in this thread ahead of the event, by pressing the reply button in the top right of your screen. They will be answered on 13 May when Mr Gauke logs into the forum. We’ll also be collecting questions from our social media channels (use #askGauke or tweet us @ICASaccounting) and via email (digital@icas.org.uk) and sharing these in the forum as well."

Why not send in some questions?

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"

Gauke's Smoking Gun

My thanks to a loyal reader who pointed me to another update on the Osita Mba debacle.

The Guardian reports that based on emails that it has seen, David Gauke seemingly approved a plan to brief a journalist with information to help discredit testimony from HMRC whistleblower Osita Mba.

The leaked emails were sent on 15 December 2011 by a senior figure in HMRC's media department to Gauke's private secretary, Oliver Haydon. The emails claimed that the imminent public accounts committee report would be highly critical of Hartnett, HMRC and the Goldman Sachs deal.

In one email, the HMRC executive wrote to Gauke's secretary saying there was a need for Mba's evidence to be challenged:

"The belief that Mr Mba has genuine and deep knowledge of the Voda [Vodafone] and GS [Goldman Sachs] settlements is growing when in fact the picture he presents is partial, incomplete and flawed.

Much of the PAC [public accounts committee] report on large business settlements is likely to be based on his submissions and we feel this must be challenged if HMRC's reputation is not to suffer very serious damage.

We propose to do this by having Dave Hartnett brief [a named Financial Times journalist] – on the record – with a view to a Saturday/Monday story. We would welcome your views."

Haydon responded:

"Thx — I've relayed to XST [Gauke] whose initial reaction was positive. I'll confirm when I speak to him in the next hour or so."

Sadly there is nothing new in politicians using (directly or indirectly) the media to undermine the reputation of individuals and to manipulate the opinions of those involved in reviews/investigations. It is though particularly troubling when parts of the civil service encourage the politicians to adopt such a strategy.


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"

Saving Face

As loyal readers know, politicians will do anything to save face. In fact so desperate are they to burnish their self perceived reputations and egos, that they pressurise their civil servants and departments to do all they can to protect their political masters.

Such is the case, as pointed out by a loyal reader, with HMRC and Dave Hartnett.

Documents released in court yesterday show that Hartnett and HMRC cut a deal with the giant vampire squid, Goldman Sachs, partly to avoid the embarrassment of the bank pulling out of a new tax framework.

Reuters reports that, based on an email sent by Hartnett dated 7 December 2010, Hartnett approved the deal to avoid embarrassment to himself and to George Osborne:

"The risks here are major embarrassment to the (finance minister), HMRC ... you and me, not least if (Goldman Sachs) withdraw from the Code."

Politics is an ugly business, that erodes the fabric of decency and honesty on which society should be based.

My thanks to a loyal reader who has provided a link to the Hartnett email and to Hartnett's witness statement.


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"

Personal Services - Beaker Ignored

Loyal readers will recall that last year Danny "Beaker" Alexander ordered departments to make sure senior civil servants are on the payroll by the end of last August.

However, it appears that his orders have been ignored and that some bigwigs are still being paid by personal service companies.

The Telegraph reports that a chief executive and finance director employed by the Department of Transport are still being paid via personal services companies.

One of them is Michael Holden, chief executive of Directly Operated Rail, which runs the Government-owned East Coast rail franchise.The daily rate for his company, Coledale Consulting, is between £1,100 and £1,199 per day – with payments of more than £200,000 last year.

Another is David Walker, the finance director, who is being paid through his company Sibiu Ventures at a rate of £700 to £799 per day – with payments of more than £150,000 last year.

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"

Power Corrupts - HMRC Uses RIPA On Osita Mba

In March I asked the following question:

"Where is whistleblower Osita Mba?"

By happenstance, on the 29th of April, The Guardian provided a rather detailed and interesting update as to what HMRC have been doing to Mr Mba.

It transpires that HMRC used their powers, normally reserved for catching serious criminals (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 - Ripa brought in by parliament on the pretext of catching terrorists), to search the belongings, emails, internet records and phone calls of Mr Mba and his wife.

For why?

HMRC wanted to prove that Mr Mba had spoken to the Guardian's former investigations editor David Leigh.

Seemingly HMRC could find no proof of any contact.

Cathy James, the head of the whistleblowers' charity, Public Concern at Work, regards this as "sinister" and is quoted:

"The actions of the HMRC in this case are very much a step in the wrong direction, more likely to result in a culture of silence with more anonymous leaking than anything else. It is a case of shoot – and silence – the messengers."

David Leigh, who retired from the Guardian last month, said:

"The revenue's decision to use these powers to try and find a link with a journalist when the disclosure was so obviously in the public interest was heavy-handed and foolish, and shows the level of paranoia over their tax deals."

Mr Mba's employment tribunal claim continues and is expected to be heard in the autumn.

As I have noted before, the more powers that are granted to organisations such as HMRC the more they will abuse and misuse them.

I reproduce the full text of the Guardian's article below, comments and views are as ever always welcome.

"Tax officials used intrusive investigative powers meant to catch serious criminals to try to prove that a whistleblower who uncovered a "sweetheart" deal with Goldman Sachs had spoken to the Guardian, it has emerged.

The belongings, emails, internet search records and phone calls of the HM Revenue and Customs solicitor Osita Mba and the phone records of his wife, Claudia, were examined by investigators, according to previously undisclosed documents.

The powers, which are supposed to be used to combat large-scale criminal tax frauds, were used because the tax inspectors suspected that Mba had been in contact with the Guardian's former investigations editor, David Leigh.

Leigh's telephone numbers and email addresses were cross-referenced with Mba's, but investigators found no evidence of contact, documents show.

The disclosure has prompted serious questions about HMRC's behaviour.

Cathy James, the head of the whistleblowers' charity, Public Concern at Work, said the decision to use intrusive powers to examine an employee who made claims using whistleblowing legislation was "outrageous" and "sinister".

"The actions of the HMRC in this case are very much a step in the wrong direction, more likely to result in a culture of silence with more anonymous leaking than anything else. It is a case of shoot – and silence – the messengers," she said.

Using the Public Interest Disclosure Act, Mba wrote to the National Audit Office (NAO) and two parliamentary committees in confidence in 2011 saying that the head of tax, Dave Hartnett, had "let off" Goldman Sachs from paying at least £10m in interest.

Emails show Mba's identity was disclosed to the revenue in October 2011 by the former clerk of the public accounts committee, who had sought clarification that Mba was their employee. The next day, a member of the HMRC's security staff sought to obtain access to Mba's office cabinet beneath his desk in Whitehall. "Thanks. Did you manage to get cabinet key number?" he asked a colleague.

The man also received an email containing the solicitor's private email address, his mobile number, his home telephone number and his wife's telephone details.

On 11 October 2011, the Guardian published a story under the headline "Goldman Sachs let off paying £10m interest on failed tax avoidance scheme", written by Leigh. Publication prompted members of the revenue's criminal investigative unit to take action. One named internal criminal investigator sent an email on 19 October to a colleague saying that the revenue had begun "a review of the suspect's [Mba's] H drive [the hard drive used within HMRC] and email traffic and internet usage", but inquiries had revealed nothing.

He then proposed a "further interrogation of computer material" and an "itemised billing check", and wrote that "consultations with the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] can proceed".

Using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (Ripa), HMRC can see websites viewed by taxpayers, where a mobile phone call was made or received, and the date and time of emails, texts and phone calls. According to the revenue website, these powers "can only be used when investigating serious crime". But the papers disclose that applications were granted to investigate Mba using Ripa.

On 21 October 2011, tax officials applied for an itemised billing request to check a mobile of Mba's, documents show.

One document read: "David Leigh, who was given HMRC material discussing a named taxpayers tax affairs advised a senior employee of HMRC that he had been given access to that material on the 4th or 5th October 2011 and in it he quoted extracts from an HMRC minute of 8/12/2010. He was clearly given information which if provided by an HMRC employee was in contravention of CRCA [Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005]."

Ten days later, another investigator sent a document, entitled leakupdate4, to colleagues showing they had failed to identify any illegal activity through IT checks, emails, intranet and internet usage and checks from Mba's office telephone.

Investigators also circulated Leigh's office and mobile number among staff so that they could be cross-referenced with Mba's numbers.

A memo sent in December 2011 said the revenue had checked Leigh's details but found no evidence of contact with Mba.

Leigh, who retired from the Guardian last month, said: "The revenue's decision to use these powers to try and find a link with a journalist when the disclosure was so obviously in the public interest was heavy-handed and foolish, and shows the level of paranoia over their tax deals."

Mba was suspended from work, as the Guardian revealed on 8 December 2011, when public accounts committee members warned revenue officials not to harass or bully him. However, the organisation continued to receive and detail his phone records, documents show. The inquiry was abandoned on 11 January 2012.

Mba, who trained as a barrister in Nigeria and completed his master's degree at Oxford, worked in the personal tax litigation team that dealt with the Goldman Sachs tax issue. He told the NAO and two parliamentary committees that the bank's settlement had been agreed with a handshake by Hartnett, the permanent secretary for tax at HMRC.

Mba believed the deal could be illegal, and told auditors he was making the disclosure under whistleblowing legislation. His evidence led to Hartnett's being accused of lying to parliament over his role in the Goldman Sachs deal, which he denied. He admitted, however, that his organisation had made a mistake by approving the deal.

In June 2012, Mba filed a claim under the Public Interest Disclosure Act in the central London employment tribunal. In November 2012, HMRC ordered Mba to return to work in a different team.
In 2011, HMRC was authorised under Ripa to view 14,381 items of "communications data" on taxpayers while investigating tax evasion, compared with 11,513 items in 2010, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.

The employment tribunal claim continues and is expected to be heard in the autumn. HMRC declined to comment when contacted on Monday."

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"