HMRC Is Judge, Jury and Executioner - Echoes of #PostOfficeScandal

This is a disgraceful press statement.

Firstly, it is not for @HMRCgovuk to decide whether something is legally binding or not. That is a decision for the courts.

It is time HMRC understood they are not judge and jury on these cases. pic.twitter.com/b9NRqHG9Pd

— David Davis (@DavidDavisMP) January 24, 2024

HMRC, that three-headed hydra of a government agency, and their questionable handling of the Kaye Adams case. It's a story dripping with echoes of the #PostOfficeScandal, leaving a stench of bureaucracy and broken lives in its wake.

Kaye Adams found herself on the wrong side of HMRC's algorithm and IR35. A computerised system, prone to glitches and gremlins, spat out a monstrous tax bill, enough to swallow her livelihood whole. Kaye, like many others caught in the crosshairs of this digital dragon, fought back. She challenged the assessment, presented evidence, and pleaded her case over 10 years. But HMRC, deaf as a badger at a rave, wouldn't budge. They were judge, jury, and executioner, wielding their rubber stamp of authority like a cudgel against a fly.

Now, this wouldn't be the first time the state has been accused of playing God with people's lives. Remember the #PostOfficeScandal? Hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters were hounded, bankrupted, and even imprisoned thanks to faulty software and a culture of institutional arrogance. It was a dark chapter, one that exposed the state's penchant for crushing the little guy under the weight of its bureaucratic boot.

Here we are again, with Kaye Adams facing a similar David-and-Goliath battle. HMRC, with its bottomless coffers and army of bean counters, looms large over her, a monolith of indifference. They throw around legalese and procedure like confetti at a Tory fundraiser, burying the human cost of their actions under mountains of paperwork.

Kaye found her voice, joining forces with other victims of HMRC's algorithmic injustice. They're shining a light on the agency's dark corners, demanding accountability and reform. This ain't just about Kaye's tax bill, it's about reclaiming power from a system that's rigged against the ordinary bloke.

Here is what she had to say:

"Whilst I am extremely pleased that HMRC has decided not to roll the dice on a fifth time lucky shot on my case, I remain utterly horrified at the behaviour of this department. The statement they released to the press, without my knowledge, twenty minutes after informing me of their decision, says they don’t think it would be ‘proportionate’ to appeal in this case.

"It was never proportionate.

"By the end of my first hearing five years ago, I had burned through more money in legal fees than the tax in dispute. Where was HMRC’s concern over proportionality when they appealed to Upper Tribunal and then appealed again to the Court of Appeal and then again hauled me over the coals in the First Tier Tribunal for a second time?

"Not once did they score a victory over me, yet they kept going. And now they have the audacity to suggest, my case does not set legal binding precedent. It is outrageous.

"Everyone in the media industry knows IR35 is a mess. Freelancers working for as few as ten days a year for engagers are being forced onto PAYE with no employment rights or benefits, HMRC knows IR35 is a mess. It knows it has been playing fast and loose with taxpayers’ money to push through an interpretation of the law that it has frankly invented and it seems these faceless bureaucrats are accountable to no one.

"They have the power to ruin good, honest hard-working people’s lives with no consequences.

"It is not just lives they are trashing, HMRC is making a mockery of the legislation. Self- employed status is now determined according to the pressure applied by HMRC and risk management on the part of media companies, not according to the law.

"This is a pyrrhic victory for me. I have won my case against HMRC and I have spent on legal fees nearly £300,000, which should have been in my pension. Justice eh!"

Remember, power concedes nothing without a demand. It's time to hold HMRC to account, to make them answer for the lives they've destroyed and the businesses they've crushed. Let's make sure Kaye Adams' case isn't another forgotten footnote in the agency's long history of blunders. Let's make it a catalyst for change, a rallying cry for the voiceless, a reminder that even the smallest pebble can topple the mightiest giant.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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