The Conduct of Tax Enquiries and the Resolution of Tax Disputes Inquiry

HMRC is responsible for the collection and management of taxes, duties and national insurance contributions. In its code of governance for resolving tax disputes, HMRC outlines internal governance processes that are intended to ensure that it deals with all tax disputes fairly and in an even-handed manner.

The Treasury Sub-Committee will examine whether HMRC’s approach to conducting tax enquiries, resolving tax disputes and determining the amount of tax to be paid meets those standards.
The Treasury Sub-Committee invites written submissions addressing any of the following questions:

• How do HMRC governance and settlement processes affect its ability to resolve tax disputes in a proportionate and fair way?
• Does HMRC’s litigation and settlement strategy provide a rational and sound framework for resolving tax disputes?
• Do HMRC’s collection and management powers set out in the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 provide HMRC with sufficient flexibility to achieve cost-effective and fair results?
• Does HMRC’s approach to enforcing compliance with tax law, including its approach to penalties and other sanctions, result in disproportionate or unjust outcomes? If so, how can the situation be remedied?
• Is there sufficient governance over the whole of HMRC’s enquiry process to ensure that HMRC’s interventions are well-targeted and that taxpayers are treated fairly and professionally throughout?
• Do HMRC’s governance processes provide sufficient scrutiny and assurance for clearances and approvals given to taxpayers outside the formal enquiry process.

Submit written evidence

The deadline for written submissions is Thursday 31 May 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 Quality of Service to Personal Taxpayers Inquiry

Without any sense of irony, in light of yesterday's damning NAO report into the chaos at HMRC costing taxpayers £97M in phone calls and possibly giving rise to over 3 million incorrect tax payments, PAC will be holding an inquiry into the quality of service to personal taxpayers.

I am glad to see the word "taxpayers" not "customers" has been used!

The deadline for written submissions is 7 June.

The Public Accounts Committee holds a session on the quality of service to personal taxpayers on Monday 13 June 2016 at 4.00pm

Scope of the inquiry

HM Revenue & Customs' (HMRC) mission is to collect the money that pays for the UK's public services and help families and individuals with targeted financial support. It aims to administer the tax system in the most simple, customer focused and efficient way, helping the honest majority to get their tax right.

Taxpayers pay around £270 billion a year in income tax and national insurance, around half of all tax revenue. Many people who pay income tax do not need to engage with HMRC on a regular basis. Most income tax (86%) is collected from employees under Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) and administered by employers. The remaining 14% of taxpayers who are self-employed or have other income sources are required to assess their own tax liabilities.

During the last five years, the National Audit Office and the Committee of Public Accounts have reported several times on HMRC's customer service. In 2013, the Committee of Public Accounts expressed concern that the prospects of fewer staff and more calls were a real risk to HMRC achieving acceptable standards of service. The NAO report will look at what HMRC has done to improve performance since the NAO last reported in 2012, and how HMRC plans to improve customer service and seek to understand whether the quality of HMRC's customer service might affect tax revenue.

If you wish to submit evidence to this inquiry, please do so through the page linked below. The deadline for written submissions is midday on Tuesday 7 June 2016.

Send a written submission


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"

Lost

The Bournemouth Echo reports that HMRC are conducting an "urgent" inquiry after a parcel containing 42 private companies' tax returns was delivered to Michael Hodge, a former mayor of Christchurch and by happenstance ex HMRC fraud investigator.

The 42 firms are SMEs based based around Surrey, Kent and Essex. Seemingly the documents, despite the parcel being labelled for Mr Hodge, were destined for a storage centre.

The documents included annual accounts, tax returns and accountants' letters; dealt with by Croydon tax office.

According to the Echo Mr Hodge was not that impressed with the lack lustre "enthusiasm" from HMRC, for looking into this cock up, when he reported it to them.

HMRC only began to take an interest when Mr Hodge told them that he would contact the Echo.

Lisa Billard of HMRC is quoted:

"We take customer security very seriously and no data has been lost in this incident.

Our parcel was correctly addressed, but it would appear that a label from another package (not an HMRC package) had become attached to it within the postal system meaning that the courier company delivered it to the wrong address.

HMRC have collected the parcel and can confirm its contents are intact. We have raised the matter with the delivery company."

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"

Treasury Inquiry

My thanks to the loyal reader who sent me this link to the Treasury Sub-Committee call for evidence to be submitted to their inquiry into HMRC.

In my view, this is an ideal opportunity for HMRC staff to put their case across and have their voices heard.

Source: Sub-Committe Inquiry Into HMRC
"The operation of HMRC has come under close scrutiny in the last few months as a result of the most recent round of PAYE reconciliations. The Department is subject to a significant efficiency programme and must make further savings as a result of the Comprehensive Spending Review. Looking ahead, the Government has made tax compliance a priority, with funding being made available in the CSR, and recently concluded a consultation on PAYE reform.

The sub-committee’s inquiry will build on its predecessor’s work, which identified areas of concern in relation to the impact of the efficiency programme on HMRC’s performance, staff morale within the organisation and its performance on issues such as the payment of tax credits. Its inquiry will focus on the following questions:

HMRC's performance as an organisation and whether it is delivering its key aims;
What the implications are of HMRC's spending review settlement;
Whether HMRC is able to deliver the Government's aims on tax compliance;
Whether PAYE reform is necessary; and
What HMRC’s priorities should be for the future?

The sub-committee invites written submissions on these and related points. Guidance on how to make a written submission is given below.

Please be aware that the Sub-Committee cannot not investigate individual cases....

NOTES ON SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN EVIDENCE

Written evidence should be in Word or rich text format—not PDF format—and sent by e-mail to treascom@parliament.uk. The body of the e-mail must include a contact name, telephone number and postal address. The e-mail should also make clear who the submission is from. The deadline is 12 noon on Wednesday 17 November 2010. Submissions should be no longer than 3000 words. Submissions should be in the format of a self-contained memorandum. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and the document must include an executive summary...."

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"

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.

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"

Hartnett Speaks

Dave Hartnett, HMRC's permanent secretary for tax, managed to put his foot in his mouth over the weekend.

He kicked off by refusing to apologise for the oncoming storm of extra demands for tax from HMRC, resulting from their well publicised cock up over tax over/underpayments that affect between 6-10 million people.

Hartnett denied there had been any errors, and said he saw no need to apologise.

The Guardian quoted him from BBC Radio 4's Money Box programme:

"I'm not sure I see a need to apologise.

I've read the papers, listened to the media and heard stories of HMRC blunder and IT failure – neither of those are true.

Every country that I know of that has deduction of tax from wages and salaries has to do a reconciliation at the end of each year and we're doing one.

I don't think we are extraordinary. Once or twice in the past the numbers have been very large – sometimes they're less. It depends on how the system has been operated and what issues there have been. We didn't get it wrong. This needs to be reconciled.

We're going to be as sympathetic as we can to anyone who comes to us and says you're trying to take too much money too fast.

If the results of the exercise we're now engaged in show that there are aspects of our plans which are not going to work well for the work we're trying to do or for our customers, we will consider changing them.

I am addressing the issue and I think the nation needs me to do just that."

Tory MP Ian Liddell-Grainger, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on taxation, thought that Hartnett was talking bollocks wrt the claim that the repayment demands were not due to any "mistake" by the authorities.

Warnings had been ignored for years that the system was not "up to it", he said – accusing Hartnett of showing the typical "arrogance" of senior civil servants.

"It is a mistake. We have been warning for a long time that structurally this is not up to it. It comes down to a 21st century computer system and a 1940s PAYE system."

(Source Telegraph)

I would point out that in the real world Dave those who have, through no fault of their own, underpaid tax (because they assumed that HMRC had got the figures right) will have spent the money on "luxuries" such as food, rent and heating.

Anyhoo, a few hours is a long time in farces.

Within hours of refusing to apologise Hartnett, having been subjected to a barrage of criticism from taxpayers and MPs (George Osborne, the Chancellor, was said to have been incandescent, Lord Oakeshott said Hartnett's response made the BP chief, Tony Hayward, "look like a model of disaster management" adding that Hartnett was "in a world of his own; I wonder what planet he is on? This is the latest in a series of management failures in the HMRC going back many years. If Mr Hartnett cannot see why he should apologise for this one, then he really should be reconsidering his own position."), issued an apology.

He said that he was "deeply sorry that people are facing an unexpected bill.

Everyone in HMRC is working hard to make this as painless as possible.

I apologise if my remarks came across as insensitive. I am working flat out with my colleagues to ensure everyone's tax is correct and the new computer system will help us do this.

It was this new system that revealed the extent and size of reconciliations required – and will help us be more accurate in future – but we do not underestimate the distress caused to taxpayers and, once again, I apologise. ".

(Source The Independent)

As to whether Hartnett really meant it, or was merely acting under orders is another matter.

As to why Hartnett (when he was head of the IR inquiry branch he was personally responsible for leading the HMRC investigation into Ken Dodd's tax affairs in the 1980's - you will recall HMRC lost that one when it went to court), Clasper (who works 2 days a week for HMRC) and "Dame" Strathie (and other senior executives of HMRC) are still in their jobs is something that our "beloved" political masters can answer (but probably won't).

Were these people to be removed/step down, their replacements would doubtless be highly skilled in political spin but lacking the necessary management skills/experience to turn HMRC around.

Frankly speaking it is my belief that, in its current form, HMRC is beyond redemption.

My advice is to undo the merger of IR and Customs, take away responsibility for administering tax credits (or simply replace them with a higher rate personal allowance) then work from there to massively simplify the tax system.

(Factoid: the donkey in the picture is called Dilbert - my thanks to the loyal reader who sent me Dilbert's photo and gave me permission to use it - Dilbert wishes to make it clear than any physical resemblance to Hartnett is an unfortunate coincidence).

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 Dash For Cash

Contractor UK warns that HMRC are making a "dash for cash" this Autumn.

The next few months will see an increase in the number of small firms being scrutinised under HMRC's inquiry process.

The reason?

Brown bankrupted Britain, and there is now a £158BN hole in the public finances.

Abbey Tax is quoted by Contractor UK as claiming that the number of insurance claims filed by accountants (triggered when a client receives an HMRC inquiry) doubled in June this year.

It will get worse.

HMRC inspectors have been tasked to bring in as much money as possible, as quickly as possible.

Make the most of the last few days of Summer, it's going to be a lousy Autumn!

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"

Teamwork

In a bizarre display of teamwork, normally reserved for serving the taxpayer or committing fraud for personal gain, seven HMRC staff members have been sacked for collusive racial misconduct wrt tampering with records resulting in minority ethnic claimants being underpaid child benefit.

The gang of seven were sacked on Tuesday from the HMRC contact centre in Belfast, after the results of an internal investigation were finalised. Two others resigned when the inquiry was launched earlier this year.

According to reports they tampered with computer records, which meant that a number of people from ethnic minority backgrounds across the UK were paid less money than they were entitled to.

The investigation began in January, when a customer complained that his/her records had been changed.

It also seems that computer records for other minority ethnic customers across the UK have been changed, meaning 17 people did not receive the benefits that they were entitled to.

All those affected have been reimbursed. It is not clear how much money was underpaid.

Dave Hartnett, permanent secretary for tax at HMRC, is quoted in the Guardian:

"The vast majority of our people are entirely professional and one of the ways we support that professionalism is by taking decisive action against the tiny minority who let us all down by falling far short of those standards."

A couple of questions from this bizarre fraud immediately spring to mind:

1 How were the records altered without an exception report (which I assume is reviewed by senior management) highlighting the changes made, being reviewed and authorised?

2 What other records have been altered, not necessarily for racial bigotry but for personal gain?

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"

Above The Law

It seems that our "honourable" members are regarded by HMRC as being above the law.

That at least is according to this article in The Sunday Express.

I assume that the "special status" of MPs, and the fact that HMRC seemingly treats them with kid gloves, is due to the fact that HMRC has been politicised during Brown's tenure of the Treasury and Number 10.

How ironic that the voters (ie ordinary taxpayers) are not treated by HMRC in such a deferential manner!

"TAX inspectors who suggested investigating MPs were threatened with the sack, a whistleblower claimed last night.

Thomas Casagranda, a former tax compliance officer with HM Revenue and Customs, said MPs' tax affairs were effectively 'above the law' because senior managers refused to scrutinise them.

Mr Casagranda, who quit his post at HMRC's Reading office 18 months ago, said he had been 'shocked' by their reluctance to act.

He confirmed he suggested an investigation after receiving a tip-off that an MP was failing to declare rental income from a property.

He said: 'During a routine meeting to discuss possible projects, such as investigating taxi drivers or subcontractors in the building in??d???u???stry, I suggested running a project on MPs.

'The meeting went on as normal but afterwards I was taken aside by the head of the regional risk intelligence team and told I would be 'out on my ear' if I mentioned MPs again. I was told that if I looked at an MP's tax return or checked them out on PAYE records I would face disciplinary proceedings.

'I was boiling with anger afterwards because I was effectively being told there was one law for MPs and one for everyone else. I was being leant on very heavily to drop it and it was quite clear that the manager who was leaning on me was being lent on himself from above. It was disgraceful.'

MPs' tax returns are dealt with by a special unit which also handles celebrities.

But Mr Casagranda, who is writing a book on his experiences at HMRC, said there was no similar ban on investigating famous names.

His claims will raise fresh concerns about the apparent impunity of MPs milking the system.

Dozens are thought to have avoided paying capital gains tax on their taxpayer-funded second homes by nominating them as their main residences for tax purposes.

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears last week paid £13,332 in capital gains tax after it emerged she had avoided it on the sale of a previous home.

She insisted she had done nothing wrong. Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell has also avoided paying capital gains tax in the past but has not offered to repay any cash.

In the wake of the expenses scandal HMRC has launched an inquiry into whether MPs have been routinely avoiding capital gains tax.

Last night it denied Mr Casagranda’s claims and insisted MPs had not been above the law.

A spokesman added: 'We cannot comment on the tax affairs of clearly identifiable groups of taxpayers. One of our key roles is policing the tax rules and we do this very effectively.' "

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"

The Massive Mess That is HMRC

Something for your diaries for this evening, ITV's Tonight programme scheduled for 8PM tonight, lifts the lid on the chaos within HMRC.

The programme will state that HMRC staff are so overworked and under pressure to meet government targets, that taxpayers letters are routinely binned and calls are either ignored or cut-off prematurely.

A whistleblower states:

"Staff have actually been told that when someone rings in with a tax inquiry and you spot a mistake on a person's record, you have to ignore it unless they have actually asked you to look at that mistake.

It's all about the government target of answering so many calls in a day.

And if you write in, the post often goes missing. It just disappears, just gets binned... some letters simply aren't seen by anyone.

Last week we had a situation where half a million payment reminder letters were sent out late, meaning people were being threatened with surcharges and penalties they might not even owe.

It's a massive mess."

I wonder if more whistleblowers came forward whether we would discover if this is but the tip of the iceberg?

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"

Footing The Bill

The long a fruitless search last year, by the Metropolitan Police, for the missing data discs costs £473K.

It should of course come as no surprise to learn that the bill is to be paid for by the taxpayer.

Financial minister Jane Kennedy, in a written answer to Parliament, revealed the costs. The Met has said that it will try to recover the full costs from HMRC (who in turn will bill us).

Seemingly this was the most expensive lost-property inquiry ever in the UK.

Maybe Paul Gray, chairman of HMRC at the time the discs went missing, could be asked to make a contribution to the costs from his payout of £137,591 and his pension pot?

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"

An Inspector Calls

HMRC tax inspectors will be able to carry out spot-checks on all companies and self-employed people who run their businesses from home, as from next April. Under the new rules, inspectors will be allowed to visit businesses with no warning to "inspect records, assets and premises".

At present, HMRC must open an inquiry into a company and then give 24 hours' notice of a visit.

Needless to say these new powers are not in the interests of the taxpayer, as taxpayers will be placed on the spot with no legal or professional representation.

Criminals and suspects are allowed to have a lawyer present when the police hold them for questioning, why not taxpayers?

Tax does have to be taxing.

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com) is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Sauce For The Goose

This being the season of goodwill to all, it is refereshing to see that the HMRC is being served a generous portion of sauce for both the goose and the gander.

Dave Partridge, the Chief Operating officer from the Revenue and Customs prosecutions office, has been fired following concerns that his wife had been employed by the department as a consultant.

Partridge had his contract terminated in August after an inquiry into the employment of his wife, Michaela.

Britain, being such and open democracy, is only now learning of the story as a result of questions being asked in parliament. Richard Bacon, a Conservative member of the House of Commons public accounts committee (PAC), said that Mrs Partridge or her company had been paid £97,907 since her husband was appointed in September 2005.

The RCPO is in charge of prosecuting tax fraud and other major criminal cases, including drug smuggling and money laundering.

Bacon has called for MPs to investigate the RCPO accounts, and to look into propriety at HM Revenue and Customs after new figures suggested that the department was responsible for almost half of the fraud committed across all government departments.

It seems that 190 cases of fraud were reported in HMRC in the last financial year. They were worth more than £1.75m, 45.4% of the value of all departmental fraud.

Kind of ironic isn't it?

www.hmrcisshite.com is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

ICAEW Demands Compensation For VAT Delay

HM Revenue & Customs should offer compensation to those businesses stuck on a VAT waiting list, the ICAEW has recommended.

The institute made the recommendation in a paper to HMRC suggesting how to resolve the 3-month backlog.

The ICAEW also wants a parliamentary inquiry into why the delays in obtaining a VAT number, which apply to online and paper registrants, are getting worse.

The ICAEW said in a statement:

"We are concerned that the continuing delays have damaged HMRC's reputation and will act to discourage good tax compliance from taxpayers."

Source Accountancy Age