BBC Covers "Stars'" Loan Charge tax Bills

The BBC has set aside £12m to help settle the historical tax bills of presenters being pursued by HMRC, which says some staff were wrongly paid as freelance contractors for years when they were employees.https://t.co/y4j4vM5GTd

— The Morning Account (@MorningAccount) July 4, 2019

It's alright for some!

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"

BBC Working With HMRC On Updating HMRC’s Employment Status Manual

As per the National Audit Office:

"Following concerns raised by Parliament and individuals employed by the BBC, the National Audit Office has investigated the nature of, and associated issues related to, individuals hired by the BBC on a freelance basis, particularly those hired through personal service companies (PSCs)¹.

In its investigation, published today, the NAO has found that the BBC has taken steps to help affected individuals, however issues remain unresolved and a number of possible outcomes may have future financial implications for the BBC.

The BBC hires thousands of freelancers every year, covering a number of different roles both on and off-air, including actors, entertainers and off-air workers, such as camera operators. Between 2004 and 2013, the BBC developed policies for what contracting method could or should be used when hiring freelancers in on-air roles, resulting in some roles being contracted through PSCs. It based its decisions on whether roles were employed or self-employed for tax purposes on its understanding of HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) guidance and, for on-air presenters, of industry practice.

The government introduced legislation in the Finance Act 2000, commonly known as IR35, to counter concerns that some people were using PSCs to avoid paying the correct amount of tax. It sought to ensure that people who work in the same manner pay comparable income tax and national insurance, whether they are employed directly or work through a PSC. 

Central to the application of IR35 is the assessment of an individual’s employment status for tax purposes. However, assessing employment status is complicated as there is no precise statutory test and instead each case must be assessed individually against a number of factors.

The Committee of Public Accounts first addressed the BBC’s use of PSCs in 2012 as part of a wider enquiry into off-payroll working across the public sector.

In April 2017, the government transferred responsibility for determining employment status for tax purposes of people hired through PSCs to the public bodies hiring them. Prior to this date, PSCs did this themselves and therefore bore the risk of incorrectly assessing employment status and paying the incorrect amount of tax.

The BBC applied HMRC’s 2017 assessment tool to determine employment status for on-air roles. This generated a different employment status for tax purposes in many cases, compared to the BBC’s previous use of its own assessment test and understanding of HMRC guidance. By June 2018 the BBC had assessed 663 on-air freelancers using HMRC’s tool and 92% received an ‘employed for tax purposes determination’. In contrast, prior to this, the BBC assessed the majority of on-air freelances as self-employed.

Between April and September 2017 the BBC paid £8.3 million of tax on account to HMRC to avoid any penalty charges for not paying tax that was potentially due. It started to recoup this money when it was certain about an individual’s employment status for tax purposes, but has not yet fully done so, in part because of concerns raised by individuals. By June 2018, it was yet to recoup £2.9 million.

The BBC’s implementation of these changes has adversely affected its relationship with some of its presenters, who have expressed fears that a change in their assessed status will open up a retrospective HMRC investigation. 170 presenters publicly expressed concerns with the employment status for tax purposes given to them by the BBC through an open letter, with claims that the BBC bears some responsibility in relation to HMRC’s tax demands. Individuals have said they only started operating through PSCs because the BBC required them to do so if they were to receive work from the BBC, and they feel that they have received misleading or limited information from the BBC. 

The BBC has taken steps to help affected individuals. For example, for some people it has paid bridging loans and given a contribution towards additional book-keeping fees arising from the IR35 compliance changes. In addition, in March 2018, the BBC announced its intention to set up an independent mediation process for cases where on-air presenters, who were hired through PSCs, believe the BBC bears some responsibility in relation to HMRC demands for employers’ national insurance contributions.To improve guidance available to those working in the media industry, the BBC is also currently working with HMRC, alongside others in the media industry, on updating HMRC’s employment status manual.

By May 2018, the BBC estimated that some 800 presenters, nearly 300 of whom were hired through PSCs, warranted further review as they were at risk of being challenged by HMRC. This could involve tax arrears for the BBC and for the PSCs.  According to HMRC, as at October 2018, there were about 100 open investigations into BBC-related PSCs.  All open cases relate to tax years prior to 2017 and the vast majority of these were opened prior to the reform.

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"

IR35 To Be Tailored To Suit The BBC

ContractorUK reports that new IR35 guidance for BBC presenters with Personal Service Companies is to be drawn up by HMRC.

By the end of last week, the corporation was quietly told to submit proposals for HMRC’s consideration, as were other broadcasters keen to provide PSCs with guidance on the rule.

Talks on the matter between HMRC and the BBC are at the highest level, with the director-general of each organisation directly liaising with the other, a person close to the talks added.  

The resulting broadcaster-only IR35 guidance will raise the prospect that other sectors of workers, contractors in IT for example, will also get their own tailored guidance on IR35.

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"

Shenanigans At The BBC

This is a very important story: the BBC is persuading its staff to participate in tax avoidance schemes in order to save it money. Those staff will almost certainly be landed with hefty "back tax" bills from the taxman. https://t.co/NMFOoun63P

— David Byers (@davidbyers26) June 8, 2018

Tax avoidance is perfectly legal. However, HMRC has deemed this type of scheme no longer to be a valid means of avoidance.

I wonder though if, having been so keen to enable its stars to avoid tax, will the BBC stand by them when HMRC come after them?

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"

Something Stinks at The BBC

That’s all very well but they are using taxpayers money to protect a selected few whilst tens of thousands of other contractors are abandoned and left to go bankrupt & the government are aware of it. https://t.co/bizBEn26OV

— Gordon Berry (@wealthagent) April 26, 2018

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"

Something Smells At The BBC

Here's a report about what my Front Row colleague @bbckirstylang has been through. She's not the only one. Please do read it. https://t.co/4PRSLXJChM

— Samira Ahmed (@SamiraAhmedUK) March 20, 2018

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 BBC's Through The Looking Glass Tax Arrangements

Interesting. So TV stars who presumably had accountants helping them, sue in effect the taxpayer to pay their tax? Wonder if said stars will pay over tax they saved (dividend versus payroll, tax relief for expenses) as part of this?? https://t.co/DxE6qCjCwa

— Jonathan Riley (@JONATHAN_RILE) March 9, 2018

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 Goes After The BBC

HMRC is using the reflected shine from the stars of the BBC to highlight its enthusiasm for tackling tax evasion.

It seems that more than 100 BBC presenters are under investigation for alleged tax avoidance after being suspected of wrongly using personal service companies to minimise their tax bills.

The BBC announced in July that it had moved 85 presenters onto its books as full-time employees, after a report published in 2012 found that the corporation paid more than 124 stars in excess of £150,000 a year via personal service companies.

The new revelations are included within a tax tribunal judgement involving BBC newsreaders Tim Willcox and Joanna Gosling.

As per the Telegraph the BBC, which failed in an application to give evidence in the case, said in its submission:

“HMRC have indicated to the BBC that there are around 100 additional cases under consideration involving current or former BBC presenters.

The BBC also understands that HMRC has initiated or indicated their intention to initiate IR35 proceedings in relation to presenters who are engaged by other broadcasting organisations.

The appeals are therefore extremely important not only to the individuals in question but also to the BBC and to the broadcasting industry as a whole.  The appeals are likely to be the first cases to test the freelance model in the broadcasting industry against the IR35 legislation.”

Let's see how this goes then!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

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

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

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

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

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

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



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

PAC Hearing - BBC Tax Practices Reviewed By HMRC

Zarin Patel, CFO of BBC has just said that:

"Every one of our [the BBC's] tax practices are annually reviewed by HMRC."

So that's OK then!

Tax does have to be taxing.




Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE 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 Taxwise



Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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

Debt Collection - Watchdog

The BBC's Watchdog programme will be featuring HMRC this week.

The programme will report on HMRC officials threatening to auction people's possessions in order to settle tax bills.

The episode will air this Thursday, 19 May at 20:00 on BBC One.

Watchdog's contact details can be accessed here contact Watchdog.

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE 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 Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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

Panorama

Those of you who missed Monday night's Panorama programme, "Are You Paying Too Much Tax?", can watch it here:

Panorama

"With millions of people waiting to see if they are winners or losers in the fallout from the recent tax code realignment, Panorama reveals the situation inside HM Revenue and Customs.

Insiders say the much-vaunted new computer system is making a bad situation worse, with billions in tax owed to the revenue having to be written off because of mistakes. Reporter Adam Shaw takes tax experts on the road to check people's tax codes, and hears first-hand from angry tax payers and from whistleblowers inside HMRC who complain that mismanagement, waste and staff shortages mean they're providing a poor service to taxpayers across the country."

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE 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 Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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

Lesley Strathie On Watchdog

I understand that Lesley Strathie will appear on tonight's Watchdog (BBC1 20:00).

"The taxman cometh. Why can't he add up?"

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE 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 Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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

Ooh The Irony!

How ironic that, in the midst of a government propaganda campaign against tax avoidance (despite the fact that it is perfectly legal), the BBC (a taxpayer funded body) is proactively assisting its higher paid "stars" to avoid tax.

Many of the "stars" describe themselves as "freelance", and have set up service companies that enable them to avoid the new 50% tax levy.

The BBC also keeps hundreds of other presenters off its books, by putting them on freelance deals.

How ironic!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE 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 Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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

An "Exaggeration"

The BBC report that the Chancellor is expecting a windfall of £1BN in tax, being monies that should have been paid by those who have tried to evade tax by holdings secreted in Liechtenstein.

HMRC struck an agreement last month with Liechtenstein to exchange information.

The theory is that up to 5,000 British investors are thought to have funds in secret accounts in the country, this could mean an average pay-back of £200,000.

All very well, but the agreement between HMRC and Liechtenstein states:

"TIEA (Tax Information Exchange Agreement) goals and protections: The TIEA provides a number of protections designed to assure that exchange of information does not compromise the considerable privacy rights accorded to persons making use of the Liechtenstein financial centre.

Protection of existing clients:

The Liechtenstein Government has the right to decline a TIEA request for information for clients who have Liechtenstein accounts or Liechtenstein company or fiduciary structures as of 11 August 2009 (the date of signing of the TIEA).

o Purpose: This protection is designed to permit existing clients who are persons
connected to the UK for tax purposes to take the time necessary in order

(a) to consider carefully their particular factual situation and the substantial attractions of the unique and favourable disclosure facility negotiated between the Liechtenstein Government and HMRC and

(b) to obtain proper advice on the best approach for the specific client to addressing any tax irregularities.

o Criminal exception: This protection will not apply in cases that relate to a criminal tax matter in respect of which the requesting party has formally commenced a criminal investigation (as defined in the TIEA).

o Exit requirement: For those existing clients who decide to close their
Liechtenstein accounts and transfer out, liquidate or terminate their Liechtenstein
companies or fiduciary structures before April 2015, this possibility of protection
by the Liechtenstein Government of their information continues indefinitely in the
future....

Protection against retroactive application: Where neither of the protections above
applies, the information exchange is still limited to taxable periods that begin in 2010 in respect of criminal tax matters or after March 2010 for all other matters."

This means, to my reading anyway, that a determined tax evader can close his/her account and move it to another tax haven safe in the knowldege that the agreement with Liechtenstein guarantees confidentiality.

What about the fact that tax evasion is a criminal act?

HMRC will have to have commenced a criminal investigation:

"Criminal exception: This protection will not apply in cases that relate to a criminal tax matter in respect of which the requesting party has “formally commenced a criminal investigation” (as defined in the TIEA)."

Does HMRC really have the resources to start criminal investigations into the alleged 5,000 tax evaders sitting in Liechtenstein?

I doubt it.

The £1BN is most assuredly an "exaggeration" designed to grab the headlines.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE 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 Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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

Tax Avoidance - MPs Only

The message that ZaNuLabour and various senior members of HMRC have been broadcasting is that tax avoidance (whilst not being illegal) is not OK in their eyes, and that they will move heaven and earth to stamp it out.

Why then did Shaun Woodward (cabinet member) choose to avoid paying capital gains of up to £1.5M?

Is this not a tad hypocritical?

The real message is that tax avoidance is OK if you are a member of the government, but not OK for anyone else.

Here's what Shaun did:

Source The Times.

SHAUN WOODWARD, the richest member of the cabinet, avoided a capital gains tax bill of up to £1.5m on one of his London homes, which he sold to Sting, the singer.

Woodward, the Northern Ireland secretary, who has a portfolio of properties stretching from London to the Caribbean, sold the townhouse in May 2003 for £5.7m.

He told the taxman this was his main home — and thus avoided a hefty tax on the sale.Capital gains tax (CGT) is imposed on second homes.

However, in 2001 he said that his family were based in Oxfordshire, where his children were schooled. All available records of his Commons claims also indicate that he was based in Oxfordshire.

Others have “flipped” their claims from one home to another, to maximise their allowances by ensuring their second home is the one needing the most maintenance or the highest mortgage payments. Woodward, who has a grace and favour residence at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland has claimed more than £138,000 in MPs’ housing expenses since 2001. He last night issued a categorical denial that he had flipped his home or set out to avoid tax.

He also said that, far from saving himself money by avoiding capital gains tax, he lost money in the longer term when he sold off another, more valuable, property three years later.

He said he had to pay more capital gains tax when he sold off Sarsden House, a grade II-listed mansion set in 458 acres of Oxfordshire countryside. It went for approximately £25m in May 2006.

However, although questions were submitted to him by The Sunday Times last Wednesday afternoon, he failed to clarify whether he declared different “main” residences to the taxman and the Commons authorities in May 2003.

In a statement issued at 4.19pm on Saturday he strongly denied that his arrangements were an attempt to avoid capital gains tax and said there was no “inappropriate personal gain”.

He conceded in a statement that the Westminster townhouse was exempt from CGT. However, he said the sale of Sarsden was subject to CGT.

He provided a letter from the accountants Horwath Clark Whitehill which said: “Your tax liability would have been dramatically lower had you made different arrangements because the greater liability arises from the sale of Sarsden.”

However, he failed to disclose which specific property he was claiming Commons allowances on during this period, saying that he was having trouble finding the records.

Woodward, who once worked as a researcher on Esther Rantzen’s BBC television show That’s Life!, is regarded by many MPs with a mixture of suspicion and envy. He is married to the supermarket heiress Camilla Sainsbury and defected from the Tories to Labour in 1999.

Two years later, in June 2001, he was parachuted into the safe seat of St Helens South where he bought a small detached house without a mortgage for about £55,000.

After the election, he and Camilla went on a property spree in London, buying a £2.7m penthouse in a building with panoramic views of the Thames, and a one-bedroom flat in the same development.

The couple, who married in 1987 and have four children, also purchased two apartments on London’s South Bank at the end of 2001 for £2.25m. Woodward now claims expenses against one of these properties.

One of their best investments was the Westminster townhouse, reportedly bought in 1997. Lord Mandelson once stayed as a guest.

“At the time there was only one other house in 50 or 60 offices in a terraced row,” said Woodward in a 2006 interview. “They were remarkably well priced, yet it was a risk. By the time I sold it nearly half of the street had become residential. I made a lot of money from it.”

His profit on the sale was about £3.7m and a second residence would have been liable for CGT of up to 40%.

John Rosenheim, a lawyer acting for Woodward, said: “Woodward has no direct or personal dealings with the tax authorities or the fees office and always acted on professional advice.”

Tax does have to be taxing.

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"

A Lesson In Failure

Gordon Brown's much derided Tax Credit system, mismanaged by HMRC, is still the subject of scorn and dismay.

The Public Accounts Committee has stated that overpayments (which were £7.3BN between 2003 and 2007) are still running at a staggering £1BN per annum. Needless to say the hapless recipients of the overpayments are then asked to repay them.

Edward Leigh MP, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee told the BBC:

"It is distressing that many of the families that have to make repayments to the department, on average £770 for a single year, are highly vulnerable and struggling in the economic downturn."

Adding:

"The department has not given claimants the support they need in making claims and reporting changes in circumstances, and it has assumed too much on the part of claimants in their understanding the tax credits system."

The Committee also noted that the PAYE income tax system had a backlog of 16M cases, as at March 2008, which need manual checks to ensure they are accurate.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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"

Size Matters

From the BBC:

"In these straitened times, governments everywhere are doing their best to downplay the effects of the recession.

But not HM Revenue and Customs.

Employers are being asked to double the size of P45 forms, given to staff leaving their service. The old A5-sized forms are being replaced with an A4 version.

An HMRC directive reads:

'It is... important to remember that employees may not recognise the new forms. All they need is reassurance that the form P45 has changed in appearance and now includes their date of birth and gender.'

Yes, that's all the reassurance anyone could ever need."

Tax does have to be taxing.

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"

Still Broken

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is still trying to fix a problem with its online tax filing system, three days after first becoming aware of it.

HMRC, several days ago, admitted that the system for self-assessed taxpayers was still inviting users to pay their tax via a change to next year's tax code.

The BBC note that a senior management meeting will be held by HMRC to try to fix it.

Surely there is a suitably qualified IT specialist within HMRC who can simply alter the coding?

Tax does have to be taxing.

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"

Another Software Glitch

Oh dear, it seems that there is a glitch in the HMRC online filing system.

The system allows taxpayers ask for any tax owed for 2007-08 to be paid via their new PAYE tax code for 2009-10.

However this option, for tax of up to £2K, ceased to exist from 30 December 2008.

HMRC told the BBC:

"This option should be unavailable but it is presently available."

The glitch does not seem to appear on commercial tax filing software.

How is it that the commercial software providers managed to get it right, but HMRC couldn't?

Tax does have to be taxing.

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"

Reckless Disregard

An ombudsman has ruled that HM Revenue and Customs showed "reckless disregard" for an Aberdeen businessman who claimed he was wrongly declared bankrupt.

Source BBC.

Ms Abraham, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, declared:

"It appears that HMRC's actions were motivated more by a desire to defend their position than by any recognition of the serious injustice suffered by Mr Fowler.

HMRC pursued Mr Fowler with a reckless disregard for his rights and the consequences of their actions – consequences Mr Fowler has had to live with for five years.

Post sequestration, HMRC's actions could legitimately be described as self serving and mean spirited. In their desire to defend their own position, HMRC completely lost sight of the devastating impact that their mistake had had on Mr Fowler.

They neither apologised to him, nor gave any thought to remedying the situation. That is not the standard of behaviour I would expect to see from a government department."

The report continues:

"Any competent check of HMRC's computer system would have identified that the debt had been paid, yet no action appears to have been taken.

These were very serious failings. It is entirely unacceptable HMRC set the process in train and then, in effect, absented themselves.

Given the gravity of the situation, the almost total lack of care exhibited by HMRC is indefensible and this fact needs to be recognised by them. It appears that HMRC's actions were motivated more by a desire to defend their position than by any recognition of the serious injustice suffered by Mr Fowler."

Source The Scotsman.

How wise is it to grant HMRC more powers?

Tax does have to be taxing.

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"