The Scotsman reports that HMRC’s own online tax calculator for self assessment is wrong, meaning people could be paying too much tax if they fall into certain income brackets.
Two groups of taxpayers are being overcharged if they file their tax returns online:
1 People who earn less than £16,000 a year – for example, from employment earnings, pension or rental income – and who exceed the Personal Savings Allowance, which is £1,000 a year for basic rate taxpayers and £500 a year for higher rate taxpayers.
2 Those who have total taxable income of between £27,000 and £32,000 a year, and who also receive enough income in the form of dividends to take them over the additional rate tax threshold of £150,000.
HMRC has admitted that its online systems are not able to cope with these two groups, and advises people who fall in these categories to file paper returns.
HMRC state that the problem won't be fixed this year.
Tax does have to be taxing.
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What an incompetent 'organisation'. Will those affected by HMRC's latest failure be compensated for the inconvenience?
ReplyDeleteAnyone would think senior management just could not care less, as they lurch from chaos to more chaos...........never mind, all aboard the gravy train!!!
I am shocked, with MTD on the horizon, that HMRC haven't yet said their disingenuous 'lessons will be learned' rubbish, as the gravy train rolls on for the self-serving elite types.
ReplyDeleteIncompetence is a key qualification for employment at HMRC. Apparently sometimes the incompetently incompetent recruiters accidently employ the odd competent person. They soon get dealt with though by master bullies who run amok through the place and can bully with impunity sanctioned by the incompetent management who will not put a limit on the amount of dirty ticks deployed to suppress and cover up law breaking as they destroy the victim's life.
ReplyDeleteHence it is not an organisation competent, well rounded people should ever consider as a career.
In other words new entrants to HMRC should be given a disclaimer before their first day: "Enter at your own risk".
DeleteAlways raise an eyebrow when HMRC pompously publish their 'Top 10 excuses for late filing tax return' list. The smug, sanctimonious management of the place could perhaps compile their own Top 10 excuses for the general incompetence and misconduct at HMRC? Its okay for them acting like a superior holier-than-thou elite, though far too many people know their pretence is a falsehood and perhaps the spotlight should be on them with a little accountability sometimes.
ReplyDeleteAnother day, another story of HMrc incompetence.
ReplyDeleteIs there no beginning to their talents?
At the moment, the 16/17 tax calculator available for internal HMRC use is also incorrectly calculating these cases. Shouldn't someone be held accountable? They won't but they should be.
ReplyDeleteThey work on the basis of "the collective" when it comes to the numerous never-ending instances of HMRC incompetence. Everyone's to blame, but nobody is responsible!
Delete(unless they can fit up a hard working junior grade employee, normally someone who's not part of the arse kissing protection racket, with the added management 'bonus' of using it as an excuse to fill the quota of required for 'needs improvement' by giving them a false appraisal - totally corrupt).
They can't do anything right. Useful as a chocolate fireguard. Drain the swamp!
ReplyDeleteRound and round she goes, where does she stop nobody knows?
ReplyDeleteIt will take an incident of huge impact to topple this edifice, or, given enough rope?
There comes a point when ignoring the elephant in the corner of the room, be it by politicians, the media or society generally, becomes impossible. At this point even a Lean whiteboard hub mindwash won't serve to help as years of lawbreaking, scandal and megalomania simply catch up with reality. It will happen, and when all the fuss has died down the P.M. will order a complete review and everything will be OK in LaLaLand.
Maybe one day HMRC will be forced to become a civil and disciplined outfit. The law needs changing. Certain behaviour should be made a criminal offence. With serious penalties. With staff able to call in the authorities to investigate (by-passing the internal corrupt cover-up agents). Can't help thinking the performance would improve if it did. So would staff and public trust. The culture is all wrong to the point of casual corruption. Senior Management are not unaware. But they refuse to root it out.
ReplyDeleteOne of the numerous problems within HMRC, leading to all the 'customer service' issues, is the management & promotion culture.
ReplyDeleteSo long as you are on great terms with your line management and want promotion, no matter your poor performance, output & low ability, staff are encouraged to think promotion is their entitlement. For too many its as easy as 'buy a ticket and you might win the raffle'.
These people can then become narrowly focused on 'me, me, me' at best, and extremely nasty at worst.
They become very jealous of their more able and genuinely hard working colleagues, and will literally do anything to undermine them, which obviously creates a poisonous atmosphere.
Instead of doing much real work, they spend all their working day searching for superficial 'promotion evidence'.
A culture where everyone wins a prize (except those who deliver results without fanfare) will inevitably lead to chaos and institutionally poor performance.
It also explains why management as a whole, from top to bottom, is as effective as a chocolate teapot.
A day typical in the life of a HMRC manager:
Delete7.45 Arrived at the building to be met with worrying looking faces in security. The CCTV system had gone down overnight and they were waiting for an engineer to arrive. Not letting an opportunity slip I got to my desk, logged in and put a 7am start on my flexi sheet.
8.00 - My team members informed me that confidential documents had been left out on our bank of desks overnight. No one would own up - it was actually me who left them out but I think I've got away with it !
8.30 - Coffee and toast at my desk while booking some easyjet flights.
9.00 - Attended a QC meeting. Was in agreement with the one person who seemed to know what she was talking about though had no idea what she was saying. When someone asked me for my opinion , ' I replied, ' I believe we need further analysis to confirm that ' without having a clue what I meant.
10am – Whiteboard meeting - The team were going on about lack of training for the new task which concerned landfill tax. I asked why I hadn't been approached about this last week – they replied they could never find me at my desk and that those sent to train them had advised ' we know less about this than you'.
10.15 - Attended a Mental Health Awareness seminar. Plenty of Coffee and Biscuits available.
11.00 - Attended a Charity Shop function and learnt to make chocolate cake.
12.00 - 1.00 - went to a nearby cafe for dinner using my HMRC pass to obtain a discount.
1.15 - 2.15 - Problem solve - tried to find the reason why production was falling – we got uncomfortably close to the truth that it was because too many staff were off task doing Pacesetter chores, but not wanting to kill the Golden Goose we concluded that staff were not organising their workloads very well and were talking too much about none work related matters. We agreed a further Problem Solve was needed.
2.30 - 3.00 - Booked myself on a two night overnight stay in Bristol next week as part of a 'Go See' at the Bristol Office. They have a new method for raising 3c's, I told them in a phone conversation that that sounded exciting, though it was really the 5* Hotel with a free bar on top of the normal expenses that caught my eye.
3.15 - Said bye for the day to my team. The miserable fuckers said they still hadn't a clue how to do the new task. I said we'd have a Problem Solve tomorrow.
Anonymous5 May 2017 at 17:16
DeleteVery good. Holiday Inn is very convenient for the Bristol Office.
@ 17:16 the problem with a manager such as that described (and there are many, perhaps a majority like that at HMRC) is that they are considerably better thought of by Senior Management than staff who just want to work hard and I wonder why?
DeleteSurely its in the Department's interest, and thus in the self-interest of the Senior Management, to have some staff who have integrity and want to graft on their behalf?
Anonymous5 May 2017 at 18:09
DeleteI wonder if senior management actually believe that making tax digital will work and therefore the "worker drones " will be superfluous and unecessary in the future and are therefore worthless?
As a footnote to @17:16 I would like to add that the ONLY part exaggerated would be the 'free bar' in the Hotel. Many ( including junior managers) do indeed regularly go on 'Go Sees' with overnight stays and expenses. I have known 20-25 to travel by jet-plane to another part of the country on a 'Go See' to look at whiteboards.The day in the life portrayal described is not an unusual one though this sort of manager would fit into the bullshitting, go-getter mode as opposed to the real nasty individuals who do exactly the same but also enjoy vindictively stamping on others.
DeleteThe eating toast and coffee at desk - in HMRC paid time - is very true and happens all the time. You wouldn't get away with it in most workplaces. Sometimes muesli or bran flakes too. Usually these type are the ones both 'chasing' promotion while simultaneously strolling through the day. Another example of the casual lack of discipline which results in low productivity, waste and poor performance.
DeleteSo, Gerry Dorby visited Cherry Court in Hull a week or two ago.
ReplyDeleteThe first floor of the building holds the RIS section, and all ten or so teams were recently "re-structured" because, officially, Jenni Cooper had some problem with too many teams, but in reality it was done because A) She wanted to leave people doing something she'd ordered before taking maternity leave, and B) to split up people who were seen as talking too much.
When Dorby came, he noted that he wanted as many AOs "out the door" as soon as possible, adding that the floor was "far too noisy" still.
This was on a Friday when there were, apparently, very few people in.
He is also making it his mission to get production up - even though it already as high as it can be, I've been told.
To your face, he is all smiles, but behind closed doors, he's a cunt.
If they are intending to push them out it would cost them quite a bit if those staff had been here for a long time.
DeleteThey could take a pay off then take one of the many FTE civil service jobs that the Brexit process will create.
I was told that Dorby's "getting them out of the door" was in relation to dumping as many AOs on DWP as possible, but there was an insinuation that those leaving thru illness, stress, walking out, etc. are seen as a bonus - "natural wastage".
ReplyDeleteThey absolutely DO NOT want to pay anyone any redundancy. Maybe one day down the line, but at the moment, no.
I believe HMRC to have a very casual approach to practices which could be deemed as corruption. Whoever is supposed to 'regulate' them needs to get on and do their job. The guilty need to be brought to account.
DeleteBtw 'redundancy payments' have been made to a significant number of staff. One HMRC husband and wife team boasted of being paid around £200k between them.
DeleteI take it that would be in addition to any pensions lump sum payments they elected to have?
Delete@ 11:00 oh yes
Delete"One HMRC husband and wife team boasted of being paid around £200k between them".
DeleteWhich grade was this? I note this is on a posting about AO grades. I hope this isn't an attempt to conflate. AO's barely get paid 10% pa of that payout.
How do these management scum sleep in their beds at night ??
ReplyDelete