A Little Bit of Politics - The Winds of War

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

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

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

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

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

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

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

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

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



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

Cyber Attack

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

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

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

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

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

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

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



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

RTI Survey

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

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

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

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

As per HMRC:

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

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

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

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

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

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

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

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

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

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

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



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

HMRC Dragged Into Pissing Contest

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

This helps no one in the real world.

As per the Telegraph:

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

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

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

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

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

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

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



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

The LGA Talks Bollocks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pass the sick bag someone!

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

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

2 Council's know where you live.

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

The LGA is talking complete and utter bollocks!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

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

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

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

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

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

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



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

Clasper Gets His Coats

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

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

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

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

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

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

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

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

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



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

Death and Taxes

I fully agree with the recent recommendation made by both the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) and the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) that basic tax education should be taught in schools

The LITRG said the promotion of  "a basic grounding in tax and finance" for students at an early stage of their education would reap real benefits in the future.

According to the CIOT, the DfE should concentrate on three main areas of education:

• tax and the political/economic system - the reasons for taxation, why it is levied, and its relationship to the political system 
• tax and civic responsibility - taxation and law
• tax and mathematics - basic numeracy to work out tax rates and allowances.

CIOT is quoted by Brayshore-Morey:

"Though it may not elicit the wide-eyed excitement of a Bunsen burner experiment in the chemistry lab or provide the physical rigour of a football lesson on the school field, the argument for taxation in education is nonetheless topical, compelling and relevant."

CIOT president, Stephen Coleclough, said:

"Most school children will one day become employees when they will need to be able to understand a PAYE coding notice or payslip and to be able to identify when it is wrong. Many will go into business where tax is a key cost and administrative burden that cannot be ignored. An understanding of taxation - how it works, why it is necessary and what the obligations of the taxpayer are - is an essential part of financial education. Without it we do not believe that citizens will have the skills and knowledge to manage their money well and make sound financial decisions.

The effect of PAYE and NIC on students, the differences between tax-free and regular savings accounts, VAT & tax credits all help to underscore the value that should be attached to the teaching of tax."

As the old saying goes "nothing is certain but death and taxes", yet ironically death and taxes are barely touched upon in our educational system.

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"

Taxpayers Pay Mandarins' Tax

I am gemused to see that, as ever in life, there is one rule for those in power and another for the rest of us.

The Telegraph reported over the weekend that Whitehall departments are paying the tax bills for perks such as official cars, first-class rail travel and rent-free accommodation; ie the taxpayers (that's us folks) are covering part of the tax bills of the Mandarins of Whitehall.

The effect of the deal is to increase the value of officials’ pay packages by up to £30,000 a year at the expense of taxpayers.

Amongst those who benefit/benefited from the scheme are Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary; Sir David Nicholson, the head of NHS England; and Phillippa Williamson, the former head of the Serious Fraud Office.

In the private sector, the cost of tax on benefits is usually met by the employee, not the employer.

Ironically Sir Jeremy has had a leading role in the current austerity programme, and warned that Britain (mandarins excepted) faced at least another four years of austerity.

A spokesman for the Cabinet Office is quoted:

“We are following established HMRC procedure which has been in place for many years.” 

A Department of Health spokesman said:

“Benefits in kind payments are paid to recognise [senior officials’] need to travel to carry out their roles. These payments are in line with HMRC guidance.”

A spokesman for the MoD said that its decision to pay the tax has been “fully endorsed by HMRC”.
 

That's alright then!

HMRC claimed that the arrangements were “common practice”. However, when pressed, it provided figures that show that only 20,000 of 3.6 million benefit in kind claims were paid for by employers.

The issue is not one of a breach of tax rules (which of course haven't been breached), but it is of concern that those who "govern" us and tell us we need to pay our taxes and endure austerity do not have to endure certain aspects of taxation themselves.

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 Consequences Of Politicising Tax

The FT reports that Jeremy Outen, the new director-designate of the National Crime Agency's (NCA) Economic Crime Command will not be taking up his post.

When Mr Outen was appointed in April, Keith Bristow, director-general of the NCA, described the fraud investigator as an “exceptional candidate”, while Theresa May, home secretary, said: “Getting a senior leadership team in place early is crucial to ensuring the NCA is ready to become fully operational later this year.”

For why is he not taking up the role?

Three people who said they were familiar with the development told the Financial Times that Mr Outen’s tax arrangements had played a part in the decision. There is no suggestion of any unlawfulness.

Thus we see the consequences of the politicians' insidious campaign against tax avoidance, it will come back to bite them on their derrières!

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 Debt Collection Procedures

HMRC is upping its debt collection activities and, as from mid August, will be issuing leaflets advising businesses and individuals on how to deal with HMRC debt collectors, your rights and their powers to demand payment and remove goods on the spot.

"What to expect when we visit you" explains HMRC’s powers when it arrives at premises to collect outstanding debts, and will be given to debtors when HMRC arrives at their premises.

Quote:

"We are visiting you because we have already attempted to contact you by post and/or by phone, to advise you that you owe us some money. As we have not received the amount that you owe we are now visiting you to collect payment."

For tax and NI debts, HMRC will only call between sunrise and sunset, and for VAT bills, between 8am and 8pm.

Why the distinction in timings?

Debtors facing HMRC visits can expect their goods to be seized in order to settle their debt if they are unable to pay in full. The collector is empowered to select goods from the taxpayer’s home or business, list them on an inventory form C204 Distraint notice and inventory, and then arrange for an auctioneer to take them away.

A separate version of the leaflet has been published for debtors based in Scotland, because under Scottish law HMRC does not have the right to seize goods for debt settlement.

The leaflets can be downloaded here England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Scotland 


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"

"Live" RTI Job?

My thanks to a loyal reader who forwarded me this job advert that apparently is on the civil serviced website for an RTI Director General role, unfortunately I cannot find it on the site.

Please can someone verify if this advert is "live", and send me a link?

Thanks.

Director General Benefits & Credits - Ref:1352798

Department HM Revenue and Customs
Number of Vacancies 1
Location: Region London
Location: City/Town London Location: Building/Site 100 Parliament Street
Grade SCS 3
Salary Minimum £103,000
Salary Maximum £208,100
Type of Role Operational Delivery
Policy
Senior leadership
Strategy
Stage 3: This vacancy is available to all Civil Service employees. This vacancy is open to employees who were appointed to the Civil Service on merit following a fair and open competition, or were appointed to a permanent Civil Service post in accordance with an exception certified by the Civil Service Commissioners.

Reserved/Non Reserved posts This is a Non Reserved post under the Civil Service Nationality Rules and is therefore open to UK, Commonwealth and European Economic Area (EEA) Nationals and certain non EEA members.

Security Security Check
Disclosure and Barring service (DBS) check This post does not require a Disclosure and Barring service (DBS) check Is a medical required for this post? No

Job Description Benefits and Credits is one of the four business lines in HMRC responsible for paying 6.4 million families and 10.3 million children through the administration of tax credits. We also pay Child Benefit for 13.6 million children. With 6,000 employees Benefits and Credits is larger than several Government Departments; the Director General Benefits and Credits sits on HMRC’s Executive Committee (ExCom) and is one of Whitehall’s Top 200 roles.

The Director General Benefits and Credits is an SCS3 role and reports directly to the Chief Executive of HMRC. As an ExCom member, the role shares responsibility for strategy and decision-making for the whole of HMRC, collectively managing a budget of £3.6 billion and 64,211 FTE employees.

Specific responsibilities for Directors Benefits and Credits include:
• developing and delivering an effective service to tax credit and child benefit claimants so that they receive the payments they are entitled to;
• addressing error and fraud in the credits and benefits system, both by making the systems more straightforward and by directly intervening where individuals are acting fraudulently; and
• designing and implementing the recently-announced policy of tax free childcare.

Most of B&C’s 6,000 employees are located in Preston and Washington, with some in other offices across the UK.

B&C has a challenge to transform the way that tax credit and Child Benefit payments are made, working closely with the Treasury, Ministers, customer units and operational colleagues to deliver policy, business design and processes that will improve customer service, minimise error and fraud and deliver substainable cost reductions.

It is also a key role in preparing for the introduction of a Government flagship welfare programme, Universal Credit. The DG B&C will work in partnership with DWP on plans to migrate the majority of benefits customers from HMRC to Universal Credit.

Competence 1 Managing a Quality Service
Competence 2 Seeing the Big Picture
Competence 3 Changing and Improving
Competence 4 Leading and Communicating
Competence 5 Collaborating and Partnering
Working Pattern This job/these jobs are available for full-time, part-time or flexible working arrangements (including Job Share arrangements).
Employment Terms: Post Type Permanent
The successful candidate(s) will be appointed on the modernised SCS terms and conditions. Existing civil servants will retain their existing rights if accepting this post on level transfer.
Employment Terms: Hours 42


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 Admit To RTI Problems

HMRC have admitted that there are problems with the flagship RTI project, specifically there are tax reconciliation errors between what HMRC say is due and what some PAYE schemes say is due.

I thought RTI was meant to eliminate reconciliation errors?

"We have received feedback that some PAYE schemes have experienced difficulties in reconciling the difference between:

• the tax we say is due, and
• the tax they think is due

We have set up a dedicated team to identify the cause of these discrepancies.

The team is working with a number of PAYE schemes to work through their examples to examine what is causing these discrepancies, and then to resolve them. 

This will also enable us to:

• understand the issue in greater depth, and
• take the steps necessary to prevent them arising in the first place

Each time we identify a root cause we will update our guidance, where appropriate, as soon as possible. We have already updated the View your current PAYE payment and submission position section of our guidance for employers using HMRC's PAYE Online, to make it clearer when we update this information, and what information will be available at any given."

I would be grateful to hear about the progress that the corrective action team making.

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"

Child Benefit Changes Add To HMRC's Burden

In May I wrote about the oncoming clusterfuck aka Osborne's child benefit changes, one issue noted was that the changes could create 500,000 more self-assessed taxpayers, because taxpayers will have to assess their own liability for the new charge – which would be very expensive for HMRC to administer.

Parents on higher incomes who continued to receive Child Benefit after January 2013 have been reminded that they must register for Self Assessment by 5 October 2013 to avoid any penalties in relation to the High Income Child Benefit Charge.

Taxationweb reports that HMRC will be writing to around two million higher rate taxpayers, including those affected by recent changes to Child Benefit. The letter reminds them that if their income is over £50,000 and they or their partner received Child Benefit in 2012/13, they will need to complete a Self Assessment tax return for the 2012/13 tax year. They must register now with HMRC for Self Assessment if they have not already done so. 

Lin Homer, said:

“HMRC is committed to helping people pay the right amount of tax. If you have had certain changes to your income in the last year, including those affected by the changes to Child Benefit, you have until 5 October to register for Self Assessment.”

The increase in the number of people registering for self assessment, as a result of the child benefit changes, will significantly add to HMRC's workload.

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"

Raising The Stakes On Tax Avoidance

HMRC have published a consultation document today (Raising The Stakes On Tax Avoidance) that makes proposals on two avoidance issues:

"The first proposes a new set of obligations for high-risk promoters, their intermediaries and users. 

The second is to encourage users of avoidance schemes to settle their tax affairs after similar cases have lost in court or tribunal. 

The Government also seeks views on a proposed extension to the prescribed information to be provided under the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) rules."

The consultation closes on 4 October 2013.

Meanwhile in a document entitled "Tempted By Tax Avoidance?", HMRC attempts to dissuade people from using tax avoidance schemes by warning of potential lengthy litigation etc etc.

All very well, except that the document also goes on about "tax dodging" and "breaking the law by evading tax"; thus confusing the issue, and implying that tax avoidance and evasion are the same.

Does HMRC not know the difference? 

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"

Softly Softly Catchee Monkey

A year ago HMRC launched its "Most Wanted" gallery:

"To help in the effort to hunt down the United Kingdom’s biggest tax fraudsters, HMRC will place photographs of its Most Wanted on its flickr channel and ask members of the public to assist in finding them.

The Most Wanted are tax criminals who have absconded after being charged with a crime or during trial. HMRC has worked with Crimestoppers to gather information from the public that may help capture these criminals and others like them, but this is the first time that HMRC has published photographs and details of tax dodgers’ crimes."

Has it worked?

Not really, not at least in terms of the political imperative of seeing results in a relatively short period of time.

The BBC reports that only one of the UK's 20 most-wanted alleged fraudsters and tax evaders named on the list has been caught. This has caused Labour to decry the scheme as a failure.

Irrespective of whether putting mugshots of tax evaders on the internet is an effective means of tackling this form of criminality, as opposed to being merely a form of political pr, it is unrealistic to expect to see the "top twenty" banged to rights within a year.

Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at the ACCA, quite rightly said that politics should be taken out of the equation. Instead, more resources should be put into HMRC to assist it catch the suspects.

As he said, there is "no silver bullet" to catch these people; it will take a long time.

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 Call Handling Rate Collapses

My thanks to a loyal reader for sharing the following:

"HMRC only managed to answer 10.2% of telephone calls on Tax Credits deadline day last week."

Does anyone have any more details on this, and is there a reason that the call handling rate was so poor?

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 Spends £3.7BN With Capgemini

HMRC has spent over £3.7BN with Capgemini over the last five years on the Aspire contract. The contract was originally valued at £2.8BN.

As per Computing the spend was:

-2008/09:  £777.1m
-2009/10:  £728.9m
-2010/11:  £757.8m
-2011/12:  £735.5m
-2012/13:  £773.5m

HMRC won't reveal a more detailed breakdown of its costs:

"It is considered that disclosure of details about cost breakdown of payments made by HMRC to Capgemini would prejudice the commercial interests of HMRC as a contracting authority and our ability to deliver best value.

It is also considered that release of such information would weaken our supplier's position in a competitive environment by revealing market-sensitive information or information of potential usefulness to its competitors."

Does this spend represent value for money?


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"

Hall Outlines HMRC's Challenges Ahead

Mark Hall, HMRC's outgoing Chief Information Officer (CIO) has given his incoming replacement (Mark Dearnley) some advice about the major challenges facing HMRC for when he arrives in October from Vodafone.

HMRC is currently working on systems consolidation that will reduce the number of systems serving the former Customs & Excise side of the organisation by 300. Hall states in Computing that part of the aim of the consolidation programmes has been to clear the way to put more taxes online, in a more integrated manner as HMRC aims for the "cloud".

Hall is quoted:

"We already have 200 online services. These are primarily targeted at business 'customers'. They are things like VAT, for example, or they are targeting things like self-assessment. Our ambition is to consolidate them even further and start to look at individual and personal taxpayers in the next wave of digitisation." 

HMRC hopes that the digitisation process will cut the number of paper filings and phone calls taxpayers have to make to HMRC and, therefore, will eventually save some £50M annually in administrative costs.

As per Hall:

"Going forward, we will be targeting our personal tax customers more. We have four key exemplar projects we are running in this area. The first one is PAYE [pay as you earn] online, which will ultimately deliver an online service to 39 million individual taxpayers.

You could go online to inform us that you have got a new company car, for example, so the service is targeted at providing the information you already get on paper, but in an online experience, and giving people a simple route to log simple changes and changes of circumstances.

The second one is called 'My Tax for Business', which will provide an online portal for business so that they can see all of their taxes in one place - a bit like online banking... If you're a business, you will be able to go into one place and administer all your taxes from one place.

The third one is paperless self-assessment. Self-assessment is already online, but you still receive a piece of paper asking you to file.

The final one is for agents and intermediaries, to enable them to act and support their customers in a similar way. As their customers have moved online, we need to move agents online as well - enabling the agents to do the same thing as their clients."

These projects are very ambitious, especially given that HMRC are still in the process of rolling out RTI. In Hall's opinion RTI is:

"absolutely on track".

So there we are, the new CIO has quite a task ahead of him; it is therefore very kind of Hall to help guide Dearnley in this manner.

My question to the staff members of HMRC, how are the above projects going thus far?

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"

Operation Catch Up

HMRC are currently running a campaign, called My Return Catch Up, aimed at encouraging people to bring their tax affairs up to date.

One method of joining the campaign is to call the My Tax Return Catch Up Helpline to make your notification.

Fair enough.

Stuart Jones, one of my chums, called the helpline the other day and tweeted the following about his experience:

"New ploy from #HMRC helpline. 'If your call isn't answered within one minute hang up and try later'. Thanks a bl***y lot."

When he did mange to get through he tweeted the following:

"And when I got through they couldn't answer my bl***y question! They 'complete stencils & forward them to another department'"

Stencils eh?

Weren't they something we used to use at school?

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"

Poacher Turned Gamekeeper

My thanks to a loyal reader who pointed me to a press release that HMRC issued yesterday, concerning the appointment of a new HMRC Chief Information Office (CIO), Mark Dearnley.

Dearnley comes from the private sector from a company that loyal readers may well have heard of........Vodafone....cough!

Sadly I see he refers to HMRC as having a "customer base", oh dear!

Anyhoo, Dearnley has quite a task ahead of him as CIO's within HMRC don't seem to last the course. Phil Pavitt moved from the role in October 2012, then left HMRC in November and his acting replacement, Mark Hall, evidently didn't cut the mustard.

Does anyone know what has happened to Mark Hall, ie is he still in HMRC?

I ask because rumours abound that he was not best pleased at being snubbed.

HMRC won't say why Hall had been denied the promotion to CIO, as per Computer Weekly:

“The CIO recruitment process was subject to fair and open competition overseen by a civil service commissioner. Following a rigorous and transparent selection process, an external candidate was chosen. We do not comment on individuals who may have been on the interview panel. Mark’s replacement as CIO will be announced in due course,”

It also appears that the role of CIO is being downgraded across Whitehall.

Interesting times ahead methinks!

Anyhoo, here is the press release from HMRC:

"HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced the appointment of one of the country’s leading IT chiefs as the department’s new Chief Digital and Information Officer.

Mark Dearnley, who is currently the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Vodafone UK, is joining HMRC in October. He will take control of a £500 million-a-year IT operation that serves 45 million individuals, 4.8 million businesses and 65,000 HMRC employees. He will be responsible for implementing HMRC’s £200 million digitisation programme and accelerating the planned delivery of online services for all taxpayers. He will also lead HMRC’s physical, personnel and information security.

Mr Dearnley has been CIO at Vodafone UK since 2010 with responsibility for IT supporting 19 million customers. He led a programme to overhaul Vodafone’s business-critical information systems and was named Oracle Global Business Unit CIO of the Year in 2012 for this achievement. Mr Dearnley also restructured Vodafone’s IT operating model and introduced Cloud-based technologies into the mobile operator. 

David Gauke, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said:
“It is an indication of the scale and seriousness of the Government’s digital ambition that one of the UK’s most experienced CIOs is leaving the private sector to take on this major role. Mark Dearnley’s appointment to HMRC is evidence that Government has the cutting-edge challenges that can attract the very best leaders in IT to public service.”

HMRC Chief Executive, Lin Homer, added:
“Mark is an exceptionally experienced CIO, with strong leadership and change management skills as well as an accomplished technical background across a spectrum of IT disciplines. HMRC has already embarked on an ambitious programme of digitisation to provide taxpayers with modern online services and Mark is the right person to deliver that for the UK.”

Mark Dearnley said: 
“I have spent my entire career in the private sector, mostly in customer-facing businesses. But no private business in the UK can match the customer base, scale or complexity of HMRC, which makes this role irresistible. I am thrilled to have been appointed and can’t wait to get started.”

Notes for editors:

1. Mr Dearnley was recruited through a fair and open competition under the Government’s business appointment procedures for senior civil servants. The recruitment process was overseen by the Civil Service Commissioner, who led a panel that included two Permanent Secretaries and a Non-Executive Director. The UK Government Chief Operating Officer was consulted throughout the process. The appointment was approved by the Prime Minister.
2. The annual salary for this Director General role is £180,000, which is at the Senior Civil Service (SCS) 3 pay band.
3. Mr Dearnley is CIO of Vodafone UK, where his primary focus is using IT to improve the customer experience. He has worked internationally in the telecoms industry over the last decade.
4. Prior to Vodafone, Mr Dearnley spent six years at Cable and Wireless, as CIO and in other senior IT roles. He also spent three years at Boots the Chemists, first as Chief Operating Officer for the start-up of Boots.com and latterly as Programme Director.
5. He has a degree in electrical and electronic engineering from Brunel University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology and British Computer Society."

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 Annoying Nudge Nudge Wink Wink

It appears that in an attempt to help people, via one of its "nudge" campaigns, HMRC has in fact managed to annoy and confuse a number of people (including the good people of the ICAEW Tax Faculty).

Last week (24 July) HMRC launched one of its ‘nudge’ campaigns, this time about tax paid on a remittance basis, and sent a whole host of people an email on the subject.

The email explained that HMRC would be writing to those taxpayers who had paid the remittance basis charge in 2011/12 to educate them about what was, and what was not, a remittance. The plan was to send these letters in the first instance to taxpayers taxed on the remittance basis and who are liable to pay the remittance basis charge. HMRC would then contact other remittance basis users later in the year.

So far so good.

However, the email also said that the letters would be sent to taxpayers ‘later this month’, not much time really. Certainly not enough time for advisers to warn their clients that they might receive the communication.

The email also had a link to the fact sheet, 130717 Final Fact Sheet v6 5.doc, which the ICAEW note is misleading in at least two aspects:

• ‘You buy an asset abroad with your foreign income and bring the asset to the UK’, ignores the exception for personal chattels until the reader reaches the end of the note, the main body comment should at least reference the note at the end of the factsheet. 
• ‘You make a gift of some of your foreign income to your adult son or daughter who lives abroad. Three years later your child gives some of these funds to their 16 year old child (your grandchild), who spends the money during a visit to the UK.’ The explanation should make it clear that if the funds stay with the adult child it is not a remittance even if they bring it on shore.

Additionally the covering letter sending the fact sheet to the taxpayer Taxpayer letter.doc, was not sent until the next day due to an oversight and by that time clients were also receiving the letter.

Aside from the fact that the "fact" sheet is misleading, the ICAEW Tax Faculty is also peeved that HMRC is communicating directly with taxpayers; as this undermines the relationship between client and agent.

The fact that HMRC is approaching taxpayers directly when those taxpayers are likely to have appointed agents to deal with HMRC is of concern, given that the nature of the approach suggests that the taxpayer may not have properly understood the tax system and may have made errors which throws doubt on the competence of their adviser.

This also undermines the taxpayer Right in Your Charter to be able to appoint an agent to represent them.

HMRC has suspended despatch of further letters, and a working party is being set up to consider how best to deal with future situations when HMRC wants to contact the taxpayer direct.

A cynic might wonder aloud if this was an attempt by HMRC to undermine the standing of agents and the ICAEW in the eyes of the taxpayer.

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"