Oversight of HMRC

Their Lordships on the economic affairs committee have mounted the anti avoidance bandwagon, and have said that tax avoidance by multinational companies was too easily carried out and ‘this damages the economy and undermines trust in the tax system’.

As noted before, HMRC and the "evil" companies that seek to avoid tax have to operate within the legal framework created by Parliament. However, the committee have ignored that point and instead have opted to blame HMRC in a report entitled "Tackling Corporate Tax Avoidance in a Global Economy: Is A New Approach Needed?"

Public Finance quotes from the report:

"There needs to be better parliamentary oversight of HMRC, so that the public can be confident that tax deals it agrees with multinational companies are appropriate.

The committee is concerned that HMRC may not be assertive enough in these negotiations."

The solution proposed by the committee is for the formation of a joint committee of MPs and peers which could, if necessary, take evidence in private to avoid claims by HMRC that it could not be held to account over individual deals because of the confidentiality of companies’ tax negotiations.

That's all very well, if the evidence taken could be guaranteed not to leak. However, given that the committee would be made up of politicians, there is every likelihood that it would leak.

Committee chair Lord MacGregor also wants large firms to publish a summary of their tax returns ‘so the public and media and ensure they are paying their fair share’.

Define "fair share" in the context of our massively complex tax system which very few people (HMRC and tax professionals outwith HMRC) actually understand ?

The committee also urged HMRC to end its practice of using staff seconded from leading accountancy firms to help design taxes.

"The risks are two-fold: that those on secondment will not have any incentive to design robust, hard-to-avoid taxes, and that when they return to private practice they will be better placed to advise how to exploit loopholes.

We recommend that the Treasury and HMRC should be better resourced to design and implement taxes, without undue dependence on short-term professional advisers."

In other words the committee wants HMRC to operate within a bubble, avoiding any contact with the real world!

Regarding oversight, the most effective oversight is that of creating a Cabinet post with specific responsibility for HMRC (ie one where the buck truly stops) outwith the Treasury.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Conundrum

Here's a wee conundrum for you, to start your day:

Q: When is a tax scheme (voluntarily disclosed to HMRC) legal?

A: When the government has to introduce retrospective legislation to make it illegal!

Aha!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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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

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Tax Avoidance Hypocrisy - The Ed Lester Debacle

As we all know, the government is skint. Therefore over the last year or so the government and its bureaucratic arm, HMRC, have been doing their best to promote the idea that tax avoidance (which, unlike tax evasion, is perfectly legal) is somehow akin to tax evasion and morally wrong, and have attempted to whip the media up into a moralistic crusade against avoidance.

In January this year Cameron said the following:

"I think we need a tougher approach and one of the things we’re going to be looking at this year is whether there’s going to be a more general anti-avoidance power that HMRC can use, particularly on very wealthy individuals."


This of course is rather hypocritical, given that many MPs sit on boards of companies that operate tax avoidance schemes.

Anyhoo, imagine my amusement last night when coming home from the pub and settling down to watch Newsnight only to discover that the government and HMRC have happily signed off on a tax avoidance scheme.

Ed Lester, the CEO of the Student Loans Company, is happily receiving his £182K per annum without deductions for tax or National Insurance.

How?

He is using a tax avoidance scheme, whereby his pay is is transferred gross to his private service company, which has been signed off by HMRC!

This is the same HMRC that has been bleating that tax avoidance is somehow morally wrong!

In classic damage limitation mode, feigning surprise and shock, Danny "Beaker" Alexander has ordered an inquiry. Rather pointless given that the state signed off on this deal, ie the state knows about it.

Beaker claims that he was "not made aware" of the potential tax benefits to Mr Lester when he approved his appointment and salary levels.

Bollocks!

Mr Lester's deal was signed off by Universities Minister David Willetts and was passed to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Beaker Alexander for approval because his salary was above the prime minister's pay.

By the way, those in government and HMRC who are claiming that this is a one off had better take a stress pill or two, there will be others outed in the coming days who also have a similar arrangement.

Hypocrisy from the state and its bureaucratic arm (HMRC), who would have thought it?

Therefore, despite the bleating by HMRC and the anti avoidance campaign pushed by the state and HMRC, have no qualms about using tax avoidance schemes; the fact that the government and HMRC signed this one off shows that they perfectly happy that people use them, they just don't have the guts to admit it.

UPDATE

In the fallout from this clusterfuck of hypocrisy, the government has just announced that Ed Lester will now have his tax deducted from his income at source!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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Happy New Year!

As the calendar year comes to an end, and we stand on the threshold of 2012, it is "refreshing" to learn that "Tax Freedom Day" (for the average taxpayer) is 26th July 2012.

We are all working for the government now.

Happy New Year everyone!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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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

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Confusion Abounds

I am somewhat confused over the government's and HMRC's attitude to the minimum wage and "internships".

The Guardian reported yesterday that the government is sending unemployed young people on unpaid "work experience":

"Britain's jobless young people are being sent to work for supermarkets and budget stores for up to two months for no pay and no guarantee of a job, the Guardian can reveal.

Under the government's work experience programme young jobseekers are exempted from national minimum wage laws for up to eight weeks and are being offered placements in Tesco, Poundland, Argos, Sainsbury's and a multitude of other big-name businesses.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says that if jobseekers "express an interest" in an offer of work experience they must continue to work without pay, after a one-week cooling-off period or face having their benefits docked."

However, the Guardian also reported (in a separate and unconnected article) that HMRC is cracking down on unpaid internships in the fashion industry:

"Revenue and Customs is planning to raid fashion companies employing unpaid interns in breach of minimum wage laws, the Guardian has learned.

Internal documents from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs show it believes interns across the employment spectrum to be at "high risk" of abuse under national minimum wage laws, and that HMRC has convened a 12-person taskforce to make unannounced inspections of businesses where interns are being used as workers rather than just shadowing staff.

The special "dynamic response" unit will have powers to question managers and sift through accounts until it is satisfied that no abuse is taking place.

It is the first time intern abuse has been targeted by the HMRC, which is responsible for the enforcement of the minimum wage."

Why is the fashion industry being targeted, yet "Poundland" etc being encouraged to take on people at zero wages for short term work experience?

Is this a case of the right hand in government not knowing/caring what the left hand is doing?





Tax does have to be taxing.

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Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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HMRC Staff Survey - Political Arm Twisting

Following on from my article about the fall in percentage responses to the HMRC staff survey (down from 69% to 52%), Taxation have published an interesting report about the political arm twisting that went on behind the scenes in the run up to this year's HMRC staff survey.

Loyal readers will doubtless recall that in April this year, Steve Lamey of Excom set the cat amongst the pigeons by stating that offices with low engagement scores would be closed.

Taxation made a Freedom of Information Act request, and obtained correspondence received and sent from the office of HMRC CEO Lesley Strathie. The correspondence shows, unsurprisingly, that PCS and ARC received complaints from members who were somewhat "underwhelmed" by Lamey's remarks.

The Grande Dame then went on to issue an intranet message, saying that poor engagement would be considered only because it made offices less productive. HMRC’s media relations department went into damage limitation mode and prepared a media statement, which claimed:

"Staff engagement does not decide where we maintain a physical presence".

It then went on to deny what had previously been stated by Lamey about survey scores being a criterion in closures.

However, here's a subtle twist, the Grande Dame's orifice then edited the draft release, removing the first claim and amending the second to reiterate that ‘employee engagement on its own would never determine an office’s future’.

Aha, a subtle change wouldn't you agree?

However, it doesn't end there.

On 17 May (the week in which the unions’ conferences were discussing boycott motions) the Grande Dame was summoned to the Cabinet Office.

Can you guess what happened next children?

Yes, that's right, the Grande Dame was forced to make another amendment.

Quote:

"Decisions on office closures are only taken [sic] after exhaustive consideration of a wide range of factors, but People Survey scores are not one of those factors."

Having done her masters' bidding, the Grande Dame was rewarded with an email from the Cabinet Secretary’s office saying that the statement it was ‘a very good note’.

Now that was rather an interesting story wasn't it?

It seems to me that HMRC's political masters can see that things are near breaking point, but that Excom still have their heads firmly buried in the sand.

So, who is really calling the shots now in HMRC, Excom or the Cabinet Orifice?




Tax does have to be taxing.

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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"

A Dangerous Obsession

HMG and HMRC have developed an unhealthy obsession with tax avoidance (a perfectly legal and perfectly logical practice) in their desperation to raise money to keep the ship of state afloat.

In HMRC's recent consultation document "High-risk areas of the tax code: Relief for income tax losses" (published on 30 June 2011) the phrases "robust defences against avoidance" and "the strategy focuses on preventing tax avoidance before it occurs to protect the Exchequer and increase certainty for taxpayers" appear in paragraph 1.1 on page 4.

Paragraph 1.5 then goes on to say:

"However, loss reliefs that can be used to reduce or eliminate tax on general income or capital gains have regularly been used for tax avoidance purposes."

So what?

Avoidance is legal, even though the government (members of which use tax professionals to minimise their tax payments) would like avoidance (except when they are practising it) to be made illegal.

Paragraph 1.6 "HMRC’s internal review has identified the income tax loss reliefs that are most prone to misuse for tax avoidance purposes."

"Misuse"??

Does HMRC regard avoidance as a crime?

Paragraph 1.8 offers the reader some hope that HMRC have finally realised that tax legislation has become far too complex:

"Continued attempts to prevent avoidance through legislative change have made the legislation unwieldy and complex, meaning there is also some potential for simplification."

However, that hope is crushed by paragraph 2.14 that asks for more legalisation:

"It is desirable, and would be more cost-effective for both taxpayers and HMRC, to have a legislative structure that provides certainty and deters tax avoidance involving sideways loss relief at the outset. This would eliminate the need for HMRC to investigate and litigate each individual case on its particular facts."

HMRC require feedback by 30 September, feel free to let them know what you think of it and also to advise them of the various tax avoidance measures currently used by members of the government, MPs and the companies which they run.

Given the obsession with avoidance, I suspect HMRC would have some rich pickings if it went after our "respected" elected representatives.

Wouldn't that be fun?:)

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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Trust

Anthony Thomas will takeover as President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) at today's AGM.

His inaugural speech will highlight the importance of trust between the public and HMRC.

CIOT quote him:

"A fair tax system requires respect on both sides.

HMRC are at risk of damaging the trust that has been built up over centuries between tax payers and tax collectors."

His speech will cover:

- The attitude of HMRC to the rule of law;
- The impact of ever-increasing HMRC powers;
- HMRC's operational performance in recent years

He is right, trust is essential both between HMRC and taxpayers and between the government and the voters in order for democracy to continue to function in this country.

Undermine that trust and you undermine the foundations of democracy.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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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"

Nudge Theory

I see that HMRC are indulging in some psychological tricks (known as "nudge theory") in an effort to increase tax take. The mind control techniques are being devised by a special unit set up by Cameron which, oddly enough, the government refuses to disclose the activities or membership of.

As per The Independent:

"One experiment involved Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) secretly changing the wording of tens of thousands of tax letters, leading to the collection of an extra £200m in income tax....

...tax officials who reinforce "norms" dramatically increase their collection rates. The authorities tend to be "quite aggressive and assertive" when chasing late payers, Dr Halpern said. "We will send you a rude letter and say: 'We're going to come and find you and break down your door and take away your children.' So [HMRC] officials had been reading a bit of [nudge] literature and they changed letters on just one block of letters [chasing] £600m in unpaid tax.

"The normal repayment rate is about 50 per cent. The [new] letter says: '94 per cent of people pay their tax on time', so now you emphasis the underlying social norm – and then: 'Even if one person doesn't it has a significant impact'. The repayment rate went up to 85 per cent, [collecting] £200m just in that experiment."

The state never ceases to try to control people, whther by legislation or mind games.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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Stifling Business

It seems that, despite claiming that it wants to simplify the tax system, the government is determined to add ever more layers of complexity.

That at least is the conclusion to be drawn from the government's proposals to clamp down on tax avoidance (a perfectly legal activity) by introducing a general anti avoidance rule (GAAR). GAAR was considered by the previous Labour administration. However, it was decided that it would be too expensive and complex to administer.

Critics note that the effects of GAAR will be most keenly felt by small and medium sized business.

Accountancy Age quote Andrew Jupp, head of tax at Haysmacintyre:

"It is unnecessary and unwelcome, and will introduce yet more uncertainty into the tax system. Unless it is coupled with a vast range of pre-transaction approvals it will stifle businesses ability to operate and make sensible commercial decisions.

Whilst the largest British companies might be able to cope with a GAAR, I cannot see how the smaller businesses, which are the lifeblood of the UK economy, will manage. These businesses constantly tell us that they want less red tape, not more."

James Bullock of McGrigors said:

"The problem is that there will inevitably be a situation - probably many situations - where commercial pressures mean that transactions have to be completed before specific HMRC clearance can be obtained confirming that they do not fall foul of a GAAR.

You will then have precisely the situation that applies at the moment - HMRC challenging the tax treatment of transactions after the event, on the basis that the GAAR applies. Taxpayers will oppose these challenges and the whole thing will end up being interpreted by the Courts - just as happens at the moment".

GAAR will simply push companies to move out of the country and reduce the tax take, thus being counterproductive to the economic well being of the country and the coffers of the government so hungry for cash.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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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

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Sign Here, Where It Says "For The Rest of My Life"

How nice to read that, during this time of economic crisis, HMRC is advising struggling businesses applying to defer taxes to "max out" their company credit cards first.

This helpful advice needless to say costs the hapless businesses 20% or more in interest payments, plus a 1.25% credit card handling fee added on by HMRC.

This approach is of course "understandable"; the £4.8 trillion debt built up over the years by our elected representatives needs to be serviced, otherwise there would not be enough money in the kitty to pay our "beloved" MPs and subsidise their bars and restaurants at Westminster.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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A Political F*ck Up!

The Scotsman reports the following wrt money spent by the Scottish executive on a tax system that it has never used:

"MILLIONS of pounds from Scotland's budget were paid to HM Revenue and Customs to set up a tax system which was never used, it has emerged.

As a result of technology changes at HMRC, a Scottish government will have to fork out millions more if it wants to charge a different rate of tax.

The Scottish Parliament has never made use of its powers to vary the basic rate of income tax by 3p in the pound.

Sources say under an agreement which expired in 2007, the previous Scottish Executive paid HMRC £12 million to set up the necessary systems to identify Scottish taxpayers and a further £50,000 a year to maintain the project.

The current Scottish Government did not renew the agreement when it came to power in 2007 because it did not plan to use the powers.

Within the next few weeks, the UK Government is expected to publish the Scotland Bill, implementing proposals by the Calman commission to give Holyrood wider tax powers.

In the meantime, sources say there have been "significant changes to HMRC's IT platforms" which mean the Scottish Government would have to pay for completely new systems to identify Scottish taxpayers...."

Let's face it, politicians really do know f*ck things up and waste our money!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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Complexity Increases - The Bugger's Muddle

The coalition government has claimed that they want to simplify the tax system.

As ever, when a politician speaks, there is a world of difference between the words of the politician and reality.

George Osborne's recent proposals to stop child benefit for higher rate taxpayers are a case in point. I noted in early October that the claw back mechanism for child benefit payments will increase the complexity of individuals' tax affairs, and add to the burden on the already overstretched HMRC.

This, of course, is not the only complicating factor within Osborne's proposals. In order for the claw back to operate, the taxpayer (and the family unit) will have to be deemed to be "higher rate".

Easy enough for HMRC to deduce if the recipient (the mother) is herself a higher rate taxpayer. However, the proposal by Osborne is that the cut off will apply to the earnings of the wife and her partner together (means tested benefits are calculated on the basis of household income).

Fair enough, in principle.

Except there is one rather large problem. The independent taxation of husbands and wives has been a key principle of taxation since 1990. In order for HMRC to know if the family is higher rate they will now have to ask the husband/wife to disclose if his/her wife/husband is a higher rate taxpayer, and for the husband to disclose if his wife is receiving child benefit.

At the moment the law specifies that an individual's tax matters are an individual's responsibility, yet the government proposes (via HMRC) to fine those who do not honestly/correctly declare their partner's status wrt the new child benefit rules.

The law, as it now stands, makes those proposed fines unenforceable.

Instead of simplifying the tax system, if this is to work, the coalition will now have to pass new legislation to enforce fines on taxpayers for failing to disclose information about other taxpayers; ie the coalition will increase the complexity of the tax system.

It's a "bugger's muddle", make no mistake about that!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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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"

Inquiry Launched

Politicians, fed up with the ongoing cock ups emanating from HMRC (and doubtless worried that some of the shit will, quite deservedly, splatter back on them) have done what politicians always do under such circumstances, they have announced a formal inquiry into HMRC.

A Treasury sub-committee will examine the effectiveness of HMRC and look at "how HMRC is doing its job, whether it can do it better, and what the future holds".

Dame Lesley Strathie, the "beloved and respected" CEO of HMRC, will be called to give evidence.

Ironically there has already been an inquiry into HMRC, the results of which were published this year. That inquiry found that morale was at rock bottom (HMRC are in fact the unhappiest civil servants in Whitehall).

Anyhoo, since then there has been the PAYE debacle and the announcement of further cuts in HMRC's staff etc. The politicians have realised that the government/state in all its many forms (if it is to continue to function) needs money (in the form of taxes), and that HMRC are the means by which that money is collected.

A catastrophic failure of HMRC, its IT systems, or a protracted general HMRC strike could cause a seizure at the very heart of government as the money needed to run the country is left uncollected/processed. The politicians would, quite rightly, be blamed for much of the ensuing chaos.

Therefore the politicians are panicking, and will look at:

- HMRC's performance
- whether it is delivering its key aims
- the implications of HMRC's spending review settlement
- whether it is "able to deliver" the government's aims on tax avoidance/evasion
- whether reforms to the PAYE system are necessary;
- what HMRC's priorities should be for the future.

Good luck with that then!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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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"

Survey Time!

I see that Hartnett has failed to be given explicit support from the government, after the weekend's fiasco, and will most likley be called before the Treasury select committee foor a "wee chat".

That aside, am I right in thinking that yesterday (the 13th) was the day on which HMRC started their 2010 staff survey?

Can someone verify that please?

Thanks.

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"

The £300 Write Off and Causality

The Press Association reports today that Exchequer secretary David Gauke has stated that taxpayers who owe HMRC less than £300 will have the amount written off.

Fair enough!

Ermmm...hang on a minute though, was this £300 write off threshold not widely commented on last week on this very site; ie isn't this old news?

Take a look at many of the comments posted last week on this site, by various loyal readers, about the £300 write off.

Is this a case of the leak causing the announcement, or the pending announcement causing the leak?

Here is the Press Association report:

"Nearly one million people who did not pay enough income tax have had their repayment demands written off, it has emerged.

An estimated 900,000 workers will not receive a letter from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) demanding extra money after the Government raised the threshold under which it writes off any tax that is owed from £50 to £300.

It is thought that 2.3 million people have underpaid income tax during the past two tax years due to errors in their Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax code, but only 1.4 million of these will be chased for the money.

Those who will have to make up the shortfall collectively owe around £2 billion, or an average of £1,428 each.

But Exchequer secretary David Gauke promised that the Government would make collecting the money people owed "as painless as possible".

People who owe less than £2,000 will be able to pay the money in monthly instalments taken from their salary during the 2011/2012 tax year.

Those who can show they are unable to afford to repay all of the money in one year will also be given the option of paying it back over three years.

Mr Gauke said: "In total, the Exchequer is owed approximately £2 billion. Being left with the worst deficit in peacetime history means we simply cannot afford to write off all of these underpayments.

"To ensure that the tax system is fair for everyone, where everyone pays their fair share, we are taking action to recoup these funds as painlessly as possible."

But those who owe more than £2,000 could be charged interest of 3% - six times higher than the Bank of England base rate - on the money they owe if they do not repay it within deadlines set by HMRC.

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"

HMRC Running Scared - The Smell of Fear

In a clear indication that HMRC and the government is running scared from revealing how truly badly HMRC is performing, the Cabinet Office/HMRC have cancelled publication of this year's full annual HMRC report.

This means that information about HMRC's performance is hidden from public view.

HMRC have instead published a basic financial report and accounts.

The basic report excludes, a.o.:

- Figures showing the number of prosecutions against taxpayers
- The success rate of court actions pursued by HMRC
- A breakdown of details of complaints against HMRC

Needless to say, by hiding crucial information in this manner, HMRC management and the Cabinet Office are doing their best to avoid being held to account for their failures.

This tactic won't work, one way or another the information will leak out and enter the public domain.

So folks, exactly what are they trying to hide?

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"

Do As We Say - Not As We Do

Given that the last and the current government were/are doing their best to "illegalise" the perfectly legal and perfectly rational practice of tax avoidance, I was amused to read an article in Citywire about the soon to be emasculated government organ the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

Seemingly, the FSA have paid £230K to KPMG for tax advice for 43 international staff on secondment in 2009.

The FSA are quick to point out that:

"The tax advice relates to the individual's FSA remuneration and the actions which the FSA must take to fulfil its tax obligations to HMRC."

Nothing to do with tax avoidance then?

Of course not!

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"

Durham Top of The Tax Tree

Accounting Web cite a report by UHY Hacker Young that taxpayers in Durham experienced the fastest increase in income tax levels, of the top 100 UK towns/cities, in the tax year 2007/08.

The good people of Durham experienced average income tax rises of 18.5% to £4,350 for the tax year 2007/08.

The rise was in part due to a 13.1% growth in average earnings, bringing the regional average to £25K, plus fiscal drag (when the threshold at which the starting point of income tax after personal tax allowances, and also the higher rate tax threshold, are raised at a slower rate than the increase in earnings).

Fiscal drag is more commonly described as a "stealth tax".

Doubtless the residents of Durham will be raising a glass to their good fortune, most especially as they know that taxes are going to rise further this year (as and when we have a government).

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"

Power Corrupts

As part of the government's ongoing politicisation of HMRC, and desire to use HMRC as a tool of social control, the recent Budget will give HMRC the power to intercept any suspicious mail anywhere in the country and open it before it is delivered.

The new powers (to be implemented via an amendment to the Postal Services Act) are coming in on the auspices of cracking down on tobacco smuggling. However, HMRC are already drooling and slavering over the prospects of being able to snoop and spy on people.

The Telegraph reports that an HMRC spokesman said that the powers would be applied much more widely.

HMRC inspectors currently must notify the addressee and agree a mutually acceptable time to open the letter or parcel, before deciding whether to take any enforcement action.

However, the new powers will allow HMRC to open "suspicious" post without asking permission first.

So who determines what is "suspicious" or not?

Ah, that would be HMRC.

Judge, jury and executioner rolled into one.

No dangers there then of corruption occurring, and the powers being misused!

Not!

This is one step further down the road towards dictatorship.

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"