HMRC Offices To Be Converted Into Flats

Insider Media Limited reports that HMRC's base in Solihull is set to be transformed into a major apartment project after plans were given the green light by the borough council. It comes as HMRC relocates its West Midlands offices to Birmingham's Arena Central scheme.

Consort House, Royal House and Regent House in Princes Gate, off Homer Road, are to be converted into 100 apartments.

Permission for the work on the buildings, which are located near Solihull Train Station just outside the town centre, has been secured by applicant Princes Gate Solihull Estates.

HMRC said in 2015 that its regional office will close in 2019/2020.
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 Culture Zone

My thanks to a loyal reader who advised me that HMRC has launched a Values and Culture Zone for staff on the intranet.

Theoretically HMRC want staff input on how HMRC should be in terms of behaviour and environment.

Staff were asked for their thoughts, and a word cloud was produced.

All well and good, thusfar.

Unfortunately, HMRC scored a massive own goal; the word cloud was not accessible to colleagues who are visually impaired and need screen readers.

Oops!

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 Plays Monopoly In Telford

Insider Media Limited reports that HMRC has agreed to take 13 floors of office space in the largest commercial letting in Telford for more than a decade

"GVA and Bulleys Bradbury have completed deal which will see HMRC take 112,256 sq ft of space across One and Two Telford Plaza. Leases have been taken on terms of nine to ten years.

The acquired space will be used by HMRC to consolidate a number of existing offices.

GVA’s initial instruction was to negotiate terms for the acquisition of a single 12,000 sq ft floor in Two Telford Plaza. Additional instructions were then received for acquisition of further accommodation across One and Two Telford Plaza totalling 66,147 sq ft, with a third instruction for a further 34,056 sq ft.

Andrew Venables, GVA, said: "The quality of the space Telford Plaza offers HMRC is exceptional value for money.

"This is a significant letting for the Telford market both in terms of the profile of the occupier and the quantum of the space that has been transacted.

"This deal has developed from our initial instruction to acquire a single 12,053 sq ft floorplate in Plaza Two and working with the landlord’s agent, Bulleys Bradbury, we were able to ensure that Telford Plaza was able to accommodate the growing requirement for high quality, cost effective office space."

Richard Bradbury, Bulleys Bradbury, added: "This is an outstanding letting for the Telford market generally and for Telford Plaza specifically.

"The landlord is naturally very pleased to have an occupier of the calibre of HMRC on site and we have been working closely with GVA throughout this process.

"This letting, together with further recent lettings in the building, has resulted in both Plaza One and Two now being fully let and occupied, preserving a significant number of valuable jobs in the town."
Constituting two commercial buildings, Telford Plaza is located just off Junction Five of the M54 and close to Telford Central railway station.

GVA acted on behalf of the tenant, with Bulleys Bradbury acting for the landlord, Telford Plaza UK."

My question is this, and one that the article has not answered, why did HMRC's original 12,000 sq ft request morph into 112,000 sq ft?

Maybe HMRC are playing Monopoly?

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"

Rebuilding HMRC's Shattered Brand

Poli Stuart-Lacey, who has previously run comms for several government departments, including the Cabinet Office and the Department for International Trade, was appointed as HMRC's director of comms in January after serving there in an interim capacity since last May.

She spoke to PRWeek about her priorities:

"One of my big priorities this year will be on continuing to build our reputation, and reviewing our brand persona – it’s really important we connect with customers in a way which makes their experience as easy and efficient as possible, whether online, by letter or over the phone. Externalising our organisational values is key to getting that right, and applies as much to customers as it does to our employees."

Referring to the recent Ducks Quack campaign:

"I’m really pleased with how the campaign ran, and so far the metrics are looking really strong."

Stuart-Lacey, who studied French and Italian at the University of Hull, has made her career in central government comms over the past 18 years and has never worked in the private sector.

She worked for the Department for Education and then the Home Office, before moving to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Her first stint at HMRC was as its head of comms in 2012, with responsibility for internal and external comms about benefits and credits, a role she held for more than three years.

From here, Stuart-Lacey moved to the Cabinet Office, where she was head of comms for nearly two years.

A short stint as interim director of comms at the Department for International Trade followed before she returned to HMRC in the interim comms director role.

"I’m thrilled to be able to take on the role permanently at HMRC – I’ve been inspired by the dedication of the people I’ve been working with since last May and I’m excited to lead the communications profession at such a critical point in our departmental history.

I’m really grateful for the experience I’ve gained in my last roles at the Cabinet Office and Department for International Trade, and to be continuing to work with a hugely talented community of communication directors from across government."

Ironically, for someone involved in communications, she's not very keen on FOI and was part of a group that called for restrictions on freedom of information!

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 Cosies Up To HSBC in Birmingham HQ

Work has started on the second building to be developed at the Arena Central project in Birmingham city centre.

3 Arena Central will be home to staff from HM Revenue & Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions after a 25-year lease deal was struck last year for the entire 14-storey building.

There will be more than 3,600 civil servants based there by 2020 where they will join the new head office of HSBC UK on the development.

Steven Boyd, estates director for HMRC, is quoted by the Birmingham Post:

"This is an important milestone in the delivery of the Government Hub in Birmingham, which will be the new home for HMRC in the West Midlands.

When it is built, the new building will mean our staff can work in a modern and bright environment, while working collaboratively with other teams, to increase our effectiveness in collecting taxes."

I wonder if, when he made the comment about increasing HMRC's effectiveness, he had in the back of his mind HMRC's proximity to HSBC?

For reference:

HSBC tax avoidance scandal: Timeline of Britain's biggest banking leak

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"

Congratulations To Jon Thompson

Congratulations to Jon Thompson on his recent appointment as Head of Civil Service Operational Delivery Profession (what ever that means), he might want to tell his colleagues in the civil service to update his on-line resume which does not yet show that new role.

Gratifying to note that he has updated his Twitter profile to include it!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

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

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

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

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

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

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



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 Fails Again

The Upper Tribunal (UT) has upheld an FTT decision that HMRC did not satisfy the necessary conditions for making a discovery assessment, and so the taxpayer escaped a tax bill of £475,498.

The taxpayer made a clear disclosure in the white space of his tax return for 2009 stating that he had followed a treatment contrary to HMRC’s view of the law, and expressly invited HMRC to open an enquiry into the return.

Not only did the tribunal decide that the discovery assessment was out of time, it also ruled that there had not even been a valid discovery in the first place.

The taxpayer had provided HMRC with more than enough information to be aware that (on HMRC’s understanding of the law) there was an inadequacy in his self-assessment. No enquiry was opened, so no discovery could be made later unless there had been deliberate inaccuracy – which there was not.

Even worse: if there had been a discovery, it must have happened in 2009 when HMRC first wrote to Tooth denying his claim. Not issuing an assessment for another five years meant that discovery had gone “stale”. As something can only be discovered once, HMRC cannot have been acting on a “new” discovery made in 2014.

Full details are on AccountingWeb.

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"

Friday Fact?

#FridayFact: £1 in every £10 spent in the UK is undeclared to HMRC. That's £40 billion a year the taxman misses out on! #taxfacts

The above was posted on twitter today, is it true?

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"

iTunes HMRC Scam

HMRC has warned of a "prolific" new scam which has resulted in vulnerable and elderly people losing thousands of pounds.

The tax man has written to the chief executives of major UK retailers urging them to share details of the iTunes phone scam with their staff so they can act as a line of defence.

The scammers prey on victims by cold calling them and impersonating HMRC members of staff. They tell them that they owe large amounts of tax which they can only pay off through Apple’s iTunes vouchers.

Victims are told to go to a local shop, buy these vouchers, and then read out the redemption code to the scammer.

The conmen then sell on the codes or purchase high-value products, all at the victim’s expense.
Figures from Action Fraud show that there have been more than 1,500 reports of this scam since 2016.

Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s director general of customer service, said: "It’s really reassuring to see reports of supermarket staff, off their own back, taking action to keep customers safe. Raising public awareness is the best safeguard against this vicious scam.

"Supermarket staff are often the last line of defence against these fraudsters. That’s why I’ve written to the chief executives of major UK retailers to urge them to make their staff aware of this scam so they can help protect unsuspecting customers."
The vast majority of the victims are aged over 65 and suffered an average financial loss of £1,150 each.

Despite campaigns by HMRC and law enforcement agencies, people are still falling victim to the scam, with the highest ever loss being reported last week of an 81-year-old man losing £20,000 after being repeatedly targeted.

Source FT https://www.ftadviser.com/your-industry/2018/02/12/hmrc-warns-of-itunes-voucher-scam/

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 Glasgow Regional Centre

HMRC confirms location of Glasgow Regional Centre

Press Release   •   Feb 07, 2018 12:34 GMT

The Glasgow Regional Centre
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has formally signed an agreement to lease a ten storey new build, at 1 Atlantic Square, Argyle Street in Glasgow, for 25 years. HMRC will be one of the largest employers in the city, adding value to the local economy and forming strong relationships with the community.

HMRC will be taking an estimated 187,205 sq. ft. of office space, eventually accommodating around 2,700 full-time equivalent employees from across the department by 2021. Atlantic Square is the 10th of the 13 new regional centres that HMRC has announced, as part of its transformation plans to create a tax authority fit for the future. HMRC is investing in the best of modern technology and basing its people in state-of-the-art and more cost-effective buildings, as it creates better, more modern customer services and makes it harder for the dishonest minority to cheat the system.

Jon Thompson, HMRC Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary, said:

“Our Glasgow Regional Centre is another step in HMRC’s transformation into a modern, digitally-advanced tax authority. The centre will bring teams together promoting closer working relationships, increasing our effectiveness in collecting taxes and targeting the minority who don’t pay. We will invest in our people by creating career development opportunities, while creating stronger relationships with the local community.

"We are delighted to have agreed terms for Atlantic Square and to have made a commitment to our Regional Centre in Glasgow. This is the beginning of a process that will see our staff come together in state-of-the-art facilities, and make HMRC an important contributor to the economy and to communities in and around Glasgow.”

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said:

“We are investing in multi-departmental government hubs across the UK so that even more civil servants will be able to work in modern, flexible offices, delivering the best quality public services from every corner of the country.”

Leader of Glasgow City Council, Councillor Susan Aitken, said:

“This is a significant and long-term investment in Glasgow that reinforces the city’s status as a world-class business location and a major hub for jobs in the financial services sector.”

Notes for Editors
1. The building will be subject to a 25 year lease on around 187,205 sq. ft. of office space.
2. HMRC instructed JLL to undertake a comprehensive search of Glasgow, and the Atlantic Square development was found to be by far the most suited and cost effective.
3. BAM Properties Ltd and TCP Developments Ltd are developing Atlantic Square as a joint venture.
4. The lease payments on the new HMRC Glasgow Regional Centre will be taxable in the UK.
5. HMRC is satisfied the deal represents the best value for money for the taxpayer.
6. HMRC announcement made in November 2015 about the location of all the regional centres.
7. HMRC has signed the leases of 10 new regional centre locations and the Newcastle Regional Centre will retain the current site at Benton Park View.
8. HMRC will retain a presence in East Kilbride until 2025/26.
Issued by HM Revenue & Customs Press Office
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is the UK’s tax authority.

HMRC is responsible for making sure that the money is available to fund the UK’s public services and for helping families and individuals with targeted financial support.

GlasgowRegional Centre
Related / Contacts

HMRC Press Officer for Scotland
Scotland Contact: 03000 519 451
 william.lyon@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
 07469 023 331



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 Wastes £2.4bn of Productive Time

Poor customer service, inefficiency, and delays at HMRC means workers waste the equivalent of £2.4bn of productive time a year calling the taxman!

That's what the Institute of Customer Service has calculated anyway.

As per Graham Hambly https://twitter.com/PQMagazine/status/960821101092835328


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"

Self Assessment 2018 Headlines

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"

Taxing Pensions Is..Errmm..Taxing!

£262m refunded to taxpayers who overpaid tax when drawing on pension cash since start of the pension freedoms, according to new figures from HMRC.

— Josephine Cumbo (@JosephineCumbo) January 31, 2018

Sir Steve Webb (Royal London’s director of policy) said:

“HMRC is clearly out of control.   It operates a system of ‘tax first, ask questions later’, presumably so that the Government can enjoy some extra interest until the money is claimed back.

It is time to speak up for ordinary citizens who are forced to pay excessive amounts of tax and then go through the hassle of claiming it back.  This is a system built around the needs of the Treasury and the bureaucracy, not one which puts people first.”

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"