Guinness Is Good For Mike Clasper

In March I wrote the following about Mike Clasper:

"Mike Clasper, the former Chairman of HMRC, has taken a non-executive directorship with Serco, a government services company. Clasper takes on his new role this month."

Less than one month later I see that, as per Financial Director, he has been promoted within Guinness Peat from non executive director to chairman.

Clasper was originally appointed to the board of Guinness Peat on 20 February 2014.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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

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Clasper Joins Serco

Mike Clasper, the former Chairman of HMRC, has taken a non-executive directorship with Serco, a government services company. Clasper takes on his new role this month.

By happenstance HMRC paid Serco £42.6M in 2011/12 for one year of website development and support.

£43M for a website!

Easy money!

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"

Ian Barlow, HMRC and PA Consulting

In July I wrote about Ian Barlow's appointment to HMRC as the replacement to Mike Clasper, and listed the companies of which he is a board member. Amongst them is PA Consulting Group Ltd.

My thanks to a loyal reader who pointed out a couple of things about HMRC's relationship with PA Consulting.

PA Consulting has had a commercial relationship with HMRC, eg between April 2003 and June 2005 HMRC paid PA Consulting over £20M.

PA Consulting Group have been involved in a tax avoidance litigation case with HMRC for many years, which is now on its way to Supreme Court. Contractor Calculator quotes James Abbott, tax partner at contractor accountant Abbott Moore:

"In the 1990s, management consulting firm PA Consulting decided that it would pay its employees bonuses using dividends, so they could deliberately avoid Pay As You Earn (PAYE) income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs).

The firm set up an elaborate tax structure, allowing it to route bonus payments through a separate offshore company with multiple share classes and pay dividends to the employees, instead of bonuses as part of their PAYE pay packet.”

HMRC challenged the scheme via the tax commissioners, and then the courts, contending that the payments to PA Consulting’s employees were ‘earnings’ and should be taxed accordingly.

The case continues.

"Curiouser and curiouser!" said Alice.

Comments and views always welcome.


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 Taxwise.

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 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

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HMRC's New Laid Back Approach - Welcome Edward Troup

HMRC have announced the appointment of Edward Troup as the new Tax Assurance Commissioner (to take over from Dave Hartnett), and Ian Barlow as the Lead Non-Executive Director to succeed Mike Clasper.

The official statement from HMRC is as follows:

"HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced the appointment of a Tax Assurance Commissioner and a Lead Non-Executive Director, as part of its new governance arrangements.

Edward Troup, currently HM Treasury’s Director General for Tax and Welfare, has been appointed Tax Assurance Commissioner and second Permanent Secretary at HMRC. He will be responsible for shaping tax policy and strategy, tax professionalism, and will oversee and provide assurance of large tax settlements. Reporting directly to Chief Executive Lin Homer, Mr Troup will succeed Dave Hartnett, who is retiring on 31 July, and will sit on HMRC’s Executive Committee. Mr Troup will take up his post in August.

Ian Barlow, currently Chair of WSP Group plc, has also been appointed as the Lead Non-Executive Director, in succession to Mike Clasper, whose contract is coming to an end.

Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke MP, said: "I am delighted to welcome Edward and Ian to these appointments. They both bring specialist tax knowledge and an understanding of how HMRC operates. Their wide experience will add depth and breadth to HMRC’s leadership at both Executive and Board level."

Chief Executive Lin Homer said: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Edward Troup to this substantial and challenging role. HMRC will greatly benefit from his considerable tax knowledge and legal expertise, and he will play a critical role in providing rigour and challenge within HMRC, in order to ensure the transparency and integrity of the UK tax system.”

She added: “I am also very pleased that Ian Barlow has accepted the role of Lead Non-Executive Director at HMRC. This is an important governance role, chairing the Board and providing supportive challenge to the Executive Committee in developing and delivering HMRC’s vision and strategy, and ensuring HMRC delivers its performance and customer service objectives.”

Edward Troup said: “HMRC is an organisation with a great tradition. I look forward to joining Lin Homer’s senior management team and continuing with the department’s transformation into a modern and professional tax administration.

”I want to ensure that HMRC’s well-deserved pride in its achievements and its high standards are properly reflected in public confidence that all taxpayers, large or small, are being treated fairly.“

Ian Barlow said: “I am looking forward to building on the strategic vision developed by HMRC and Mike Clasper, and to supporting HMRC to meet its multiple objectives, including its obligations to its customers and stakeholders. The role of the Non-Executives is to be critical friends, both advising and encouraging HMRC’s Executive in its delivery and holding it to account for its actions.”

Notes to editors1. Edward Troup began his career as a tax lawyer, working with law firm Simmons & Simmons, until joining HM Treasury as a special adviser on tax, between 1995 and 1997. Edward returned to Simmons & Simmons in 1997, before rejoining the Treasury in 2004 as Director of Business and Indirect Tax.

2. Ian Barlow has held a wide range of appointments in the public, not-for-profit and private sectors. He is currently Chair of WSP Group plc and Director at Smith and Nephew and at the Brunner Investment Trust. He was recently appointed a Non-Executive Director at HMRC.

3. The Lead Non-Executive Director replaces the role of the Chairman, in accordance with the Code of Good Practice introduced by the Government in 2011.

4. The Tax Assurance Commissioner was appointed using Civil Service Commissioner Recruitment Principles and the Lead Non-Executive was appointed following a full Public Appointments Process."

I cannot but help making a wee smile to myself when reading Lin Homer's fulsome praise of Troup, given her somewhat rocky relationship with Margaret Hodge and PAC.

For why?

Only last November Hodge accused Troup of being "laid back", as per the BBC:

"MPs on the Public Accounts Committee clashed with top civil servants over the value-for-money of increasing the amount of benefits that are means-tested.

The hearing on 2 November 2011 followed the publication of a report by the National Audit Office that said that the government needed to have a greater understanding of the impact of means-testing.

Committee chair Margaret Hodge accused Edward Troup from the Treasury of having a "laid back" approach to his department's role in the distribution of benefit, a stance denied by Mr Troup."

Barlow also seems to be an interesting appointment he is, amongst others, Chairman of WSP a global design engineering and management consultancy specialising in Property, Transport & Infrastructure, Industry and Environment projects. 

However, Barlow has many other strings to his bow, as per LinkedIn he is also:

Non Executive Director

Smith & Nephew plc

Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; SNN; Medical Devices industry

March 2010 – Present (2 years 5 months) Strand, London

European based medical devices group

Non Executive Director

Brunner Investment Trust plc

November 2009 – Present (2 years 9 months) City of London

Global growth investment trust

Chairman

The Racecourse Association

July 2009 – Present (3 years 1 month) Ascot racecourse

The trade body for Britain's racecourses

Board Member

Horseracing Betting Levy Board

August 2008 – Present (4 years) Victoria, London

NDPD that administers Horserace betting levy

Trustee

Historic Royal Palaces

Nonprofit; 501-1000 employees; Museums and Institutions industry

July 2008 – Present (4 years 1 month) Hampton Court Palace,

Charity that looks after the five unoccupied Royal Palaces in London

Director

China British Business Council

July 2008 – Present (4 years 1 month) Victoria, London

Helps British companies do business in and with China.

Non Executive Director

PA Consulting Group Ltd

June 2008 – Present (4 years 2 months) Victoria, London

Non executive director, Chairman, Audit Committee

Gosh, with so many hats to wear I wonder how he will find the time to work for HMRC?

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.

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HMRC The Sinking Ship - Mike Clasper Resigns

Last Tuesday I wrote the following:

"I was gemused to read an article by Tony Hetherington, in which he lambastes HMRC's executive structure.

One particular issue he raised concerned Mike Clasper (the semi invisible Chairman of HMRC). Hetherington asked HMRC whether anyone represents "ordinary PAYE taxpayers" on HMRC's board.

The answer from HMRC was rather interesting in that, for reasons best known to themselves, HMRC lied.

Quote:

"Our chairman is also chairman of Which?"

 That's grand, except that Clasper isn't chairman of Which?

Clasper is not even a member of its governing council, instead he chairs an offshoot company ( Which? Limited) that handles the commercial activities of Which?, but not Which? consumer campaigns.

Why did HMRC lie about something that could be (and was) so easily checked and proven to be wrong? "

Fortunately for HMRC it seems that it won't have to lie very much longer about Clasper's other roles.

For why?

He has resigned, although he will probably remain physically in his role until the end of this year.

This is rather ironic that he has resigned, given that I and a loyal reader were only just discussing the fact that one of the major problems that HMRC faces is its lack of continuity of policy/direction:

"Anon: Ken One of the major problems at HMRC is lack of continuity or consistent policy direction at the top. There is nothing wrong in principle with bringing in people from the private sector to provide management expertise but the reality is that the three year contracts under which much of Excom is employed results in inevitable leadership churn. 

For example, I believe the CIO Phil Pavitt's engagement is due to expire in September 2012 and he will probably be leaving HMRC this year. This means that HMRC may have a new CIO right in the middle of one of the most crucial computer projects in its history. I find it difficult to believe that Pavitt's replacement will be able to avoid the temptation to tinker with his predecessors technical strategy and may even want to do things radically different. 

The musical chairs at Board level might be great for for ambitious career free booters keen on lucrative one off gigs that add notches to their CVs but it breeds a corrosive short termist view within the organisation which means long term planning is almost impossible.

Ken: You have hit the nail on the head, in fact the problem wrt continuity is a blight that affects many gov departments (and indeed the private sector) ie:

"Five year projects being run by two your managers".

Specifically a project (eg restructuring or IT implementation) that will take many years to implement and bed in requires consistent high quality leadership.

"High quality" leaders (or rather those who are ambitious) have two year mindsets (always looking for the next step up the ladder).

These people take on projects like this on the explicit understanding that they will be promoted in two years, if they make a "success" of it.

The best way to make a "success" is to change whatever the previous managers did, blame him/her for all cock ups, and implement a 100 days "quick wins" policy etc."

What with Homer being new (and not exactly a career "success story" based on her past) Hartnett leaving and Pavitt (as per above) possibly coming the end of his contract this year, this additional departure from the high command leaves very few experienced people on the bridge of the already fatally holed HMRC.

Evidently Clasper has seen the writing on the wall wrt HMRC's future, and wants to move on to more rewarding opportunities. Anyone care to guess which "customer" of HMRC he will join, as is the norm, to act on their behalf when they are negotiating their future tax bills?

It will be interesting to see who replaces Clasper, and indeed whether Clasper leaves HMRC with some form of "golden goodbye".

I wonder who is next to go?

Rats know when ships are sinking.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

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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

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Hanging On The Telephone - LITRG Mystery Shopper

As loyal readers know, the subject of contacting HMRC via the telephone has been discussed on this site on numerous occasions over the years. In the halcyon days of the Inland Revenue, back in 1997/98, a call to them would be answered within 30 seconds 91% of the time. However, that was then, and now is now.

Approximately a year ago, Mike Clasper (the all but invisible chairman of HMRC) promised the Treasury Sub-Committee that he expected to see a “period of steady improvement” in HMRC’s performance in answering the telephone.

Here we are in 2012 and step forward the Low Income Tax Reform Group (LITRG) which, a couple of days ago, decided to test HMRC's helplines by using a "mystery shopper".

On Tuesday 10 April 2012, LITRG made three calls to HMRC helplines using the routes taken by an ordinary PAYE caller, a pensioner and a tax credit claimant. On average the wait was 29 minutes. LITRG note that on a PAYG mobile that could have cost £11.60 per call, which could equate to half a day’s income for a pensioner (my advice here is that you should avoid calling HMRC using a PAYG mobile).

LITRG state:

"No doubt, HMRC will claim that there was pent-up demand over Easter. But a customer-centric organisation (as HMRC claim to be) would add extra resources in anticipation.

HMRC will also say that three calls are not statistically valid. But until they do their own mystery shopping and publish the results, we are quite prepared to consider a half-hour wait as not unusual."

LITRG offer some advice:

"People who cannot get through after a short period of waiting should make a note of when they rang. And if any adverse consequences occur because they were not able to do what HMRC required them to do, they should complain and ask to be compensated."

Good luck with extracting compensation!

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"

Calling All Agents

Michael Izza, the CEO of the ICAEW, has issued a public call for tax agent firms to allow HMRC staff to come and see what it is like at the "coal face" and visit the firms to observe procedures etc. HMRC have assured the ICAEW that there are no risks to the firms (or the clients of the firms) if they allow HMRC staff to come and visit.

Here is the full text of Michale Izza's call for help:

"Mike Clasper, Chairman of HMRC, spoke at the ICAEW Council meeting last week about what HMRC is doing to address the service problems that it faces.

An Inspector Calls

The ICAEW reports that Mike Clasper (Charmian of HMRC) popped in to ICAEW Council last week for a wee chat.

Clasper told members that improving service standards and the "customer" experience were priorities for the department. He also stressed the importance of 2012 to HMRC as a number of changes are implemented.

This is his first visit to Council and he acknowledged the difficulties that have existed within HMRC since the merger between Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue. He also stated that HMRC plans to become more efficient, increase tax revenue and improve the "customer" (ugh, the "C" word again!) experience.

Clasper said:

“With the recent Agent Strategy Consultation, there is a huge opportunity to build on the relationship with agents. Speaking to council today enabled me to emphasise this opportunity and I would urge ICAEW members who would like to become involved to come forward and let us see what they are experiencing on a day to day basis with HMRC.”


You heard the man, tell him what you are experiencing!


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"

Ground Hog Day

On 7th September HMRC's Chairman, Mike Clasper, hosted a meeting at 100 Parliament Street to discuss HMRC service delivery.

The meeting had been requested by a number of professional bodies/charities (one could, for want of a better word, call them "stakeholders") including:

- the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales,
- the Chartered Institute of Taxation,
- the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland,
- the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants,
- the Association of Accounting Technicians,
- the Association of Taxation Technicians and the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group,
- Tax Aid
- TaxHelp for Older People.

Why was the meeting called?

The stakeholders wanted to follow through on the recommendation of the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee’s that HMRC should work closely with the professional bodies, tax charities and businesses to improve the end‐to‐end experience of dealing with HMRC.

In addition to Clasper, HMRC sent along some senior managers.

Despite the fact that HMRC are happy that statistics show that in recent months there has been a significant improvement in overall post handling times..really???..HMRC recognise that this improvement is not consistently reflected in the actual experience of taxpayers and agents.

In other words, from the perspective of the stakeholders the statistics are wrong or are (shall we say) measuring the wrong variables.

Anyhoo, on the 14th of September HMRC issued a joint statement which outlines the agreement made as a result of the meeting.

The whole area of post handling and processing will now be looked at in depth, to understand how far the recent improvements are reflected in the actual experience of taxpayers and agents. Additionally, the reasons for the experience and perception of HMRC’s customers being different from that of HMRC managers will also be examined. 

Quote:

"It was agreed that as a first stage, work should be taken forward quickly and on three fronts:

• Post processing and handling should be looked at in detail to establish where problems still exist and how they can be resolved (and HMRC’s performance measures reviewed where necessary to ensure that they are credible and effective). This work will be complemented by a review of the following processes where it is believed improvements can be made: non Self Assessment repayment claims, automated PAYE coding notices and practical issues relating to deceased estates.

• A number of agents and charity representatives will spend time with HMRC’s front line service delivery teams to look at processes in detail from a customer perspective and make recommendations as appropriate.

• HMRC will carry out structured visits to the offices of a number of practitioners and charities to gain an in depth understanding of service delivery as seen from a customer perspective.

The intention is to pursue this initiative within a very stringent timeframe to obtain tangible fast track results with a view to facilitating quick resolution in a number of areas. The joint initiative will commence on 3 October and progress on the initial three work streams will be reviewed by 30 November.

Mike Clasper said:

'Tax agents along with the charity and voluntary sector are vitally important customer and stakeholder groups for HMRC and I welcome their offer to work with us so we can better understand how to improve. We know that they and their clients are seriously impacted when we get things wrong and we are determined to deliver a better service.

We need to get a better understanding of the interaction of our customers and stakeholders with HMRC and of their experiences in resolving tax issues. Working with agent colleagues inside and outside HMRC will provide that knowledge and lead to better services for all of our customers.'
 
The professional bodies and tax charities said:

'We and HMRC are working very closely together to try to resolve a number of service delivery issues. This exercise is emphatically not a ‘talking shop’ and where appropriate we intend to make public the results and the action to be taken from the work streams we have embarked on.'"


The publication of the joint statement gave rise to an optimistic statement from Michael Izza (CEO of the ICAEW) on his blog:

"HMRC has made similar promises in the past to tackle service issues yet have failed to deliver. 

I believe this time will be different. 

Thanks in no small part to the role played by our Tax Faculty and in particular, Paul Aplin, chair of its technical committee, we now have a partnership with HMRC and a very public commitment from the very top to a way forward which will help turn things around."

I do not wish to discredit Michael's viewpoint and optimism.

However, having run this site for many years I have a feeling of deja vu wrt the promises being made and a feeling that we are now in the endgame wrt the current structure/leadership of HMRC.

Reading between the lines of the statement (re the comments about perceptions) I get the feeling that HMRC do not want to believe that there is a service issue, and that this will be used to try to discredit "stakeholder" perceptions of poor service.


Additionally, from my cynical ("tired old eyes") perspective, even if the promises are genuine given the state of HMRC I don't see that they will/can be fulfilled.

Given that I am so cynical, and therefore partisan in my viewpoint, I would really value hearing the viewpoints of my loyal readers (especially those who work within HMRC) as to the likelihood of this actually delivering what it promises to deliver.

BTW, whatever happened to the Charter?

Tax does have to be taxing.

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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"

Advice To Mike Clasper

Dear Mike,


Re yesterday's meeting with AccountingWeb:

1 Taxpayers are not customers

2 HMRC is not a farking business!

Yours sincerely

Ken Frost

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"

HMRC Not In A Great Place - The Pride and The Passion Updated

Here, according to Accountancy Age, is the reality behind the HMRC intranet spin (see today's earlier artcile) of the public scolding of Strathie et al:

"LIKE A NAUGHTY SCHOOLKID, the taxman appeared before the Treasury select committee. Chairman Mike Clasper knew his role well, taking heed of headmaster George Mudie's words that HM Revenue & Customs must do better. As such, Mudie welcomed his tactic of agreeing with everything the committee said and he was spared the cane.

Not so lucky was HMRC chief executive Dame Leslie Strathie. After batting away many of headmaster Mudie's questions fairly successful, he finally pulled her up in the middle of her analysis of HMRC's performance for her use of "I think...".

"You keep saying that," he told her. "I'm asking you whether HMRC's performance is improving, yet you are only telling me what you think is the case. You should know these things. You are the chief executive. You should know whether it is getting better, getting worse, or staying the same. If you do not know, then you are not doing your job properly."

Thoroughly scolded, Dame Leslie took his words on board. Shunning the phrase she had been told off for, she adopted a change of tack. "I believe...", she started. Needless to say, the headmaster did not take kindly to this."

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"

HMRC Not In A Great Place - The Pride and The Passion

My thanks to a loyal reader who sent me a hand typed copy of the latest HMRC intranet posting. This one covers the recent evidence given by HMRC senior staff to the Treasury Select Committee.

Here it is as sent to me, if there are minor errors/omissions please let me know and I will correct them:

"HMRC's senior team have given evidence covering the whole range of HMRC's work to a committee of MP's

Contact centre performance, morale and engagement, PAYE and tax settlements with big business all featured in the Treasury Select Committee meeting yesterday afternoon.

Chief executive Lesley Straithie, non-executive chairman Mike Clasper, permanent secretary for tax Dave Hartnett and chief finance officer Simon Bowles all took part in the three-hour hearing.

They agreed with the committee that HMRC has to do a better on both customer service, especially call waiting times, and staff engagement.

Lesley told the committee: "I want to make a plug for our staff here - the great thing we have to build on in HMRC is their pride and passion in their work and their determination to provide good service for their customers".

She said the Department needed to "paint a picture of hope" - especially around skills and career development, something which had come out strongly in discussions with the trade unions.

She added: "I really do believe that people need to understand just how committed and passionate our people are in their work - even if they think HMRC hasn't always helped them do it".

When it came to customer service, the team told the committee that it was unlikely to improve radically until PAYE had been stabilised.

The problems experienced with PAYE and the knock-on effects on HMRC's call centres and customer service were, they stressed, the result of working across eight years in the current year, following the introduction of the National Insurance and PAYE Service (NPS)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

[...the great thing we have to build on in HMRC is [our staff's] pride and passion in the work... Lelsey Strathie]

The backlog of open cases will be cleared by the end of 2012 and the Department will be in a "much stronger position" by 2013 and "stronger again" in 2014.

Meanwhile, accuracy for the current annual coding cycle is at 97 percent - up from 80 per cent last year. However, they cautioned there would inevitably be "ups and downs" despite the steady improvement.

The work being done to manage demand in contact centres is a key part of this - especially encouraging people to use online services instead of making unnecessary calls.

Lesley added: "The satisfaction level when you speak to our staff is very high. People speak very highly of contact centre agents when they get to speak to them."

While the aim is to provide a high-quality telephone service for those who want it, the future will involve more outreach work, home visits to the elderly and more on the internet.

The team also told the committee about the changes taking place within the Department, including the work to improve leadership and revealed they will cut the number of layers from 13 to either seven or eight.

Discussion also focused on the £917m of reinvestment to focus on avoidance, evasion and criminal attack, which will bring in an extra £7bn by 2015. When this target is met, they argued, there would be a case for going back to the Treasury with business cases to ask for further investment.

Despite the challenges the Department has faced, they stressed the compliance yield had risen significantly - by more than £5bn in four years.

Settlements with big business were also discussed, especially the Vodafone case and Dave Hartnett gave a forensic analysis showing why the much-quoted £6bn liability was an "absurd figure which no serious or reputable tax specialist would support".

More information

A full transcript of the meeting, which covered many other topics, will be published on the HMRC intranet as soon as it is available."

The HMRC Intranet article appears to have missed some "nuances", as per media reports elsewhere, Mike Clasper told the Treasury select committee that he was not happy about the level of service that HMRC had been providing.

Clasper is quoted by Accountancy Age:

"I think there will be a period of steady improvement.

We're not going to be in a great place until 2013 and we'll be stronger again in 2014."

He admitted that employees were disenchanted with the work itself and that the civil service "does not like change or manage change well" and HMRC "has not given people that need to make change the tools they need".

Dame Leslie Strathie apologised to customers (taxpayers) for poor service.

Well then, over to HMRC staff now for their thoughts and comments.

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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Money Well Spent

As the pay of civil servants is frozen (though apparently not the bonus pot) in order to help the country's battered finances, Citywire reported last week that seven directors of HMRC earned up to £1.24M in pay and benefits last year.

The best paid civil servant at HMRC was director general of benefits and credits, Steve Lamey, who was paid between £205,000 and £209,999. The chairman of HMRC, Mike Clasper, was paid between £150,000 and £154,999 for working three days a week.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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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"

I've Got A Little List

Yesterday David Cameron released a list of civil servants who are paid more than him. Here is an extract, showing those who are in HMRC:

Mike Clasper
Chair HM Revenue & Customs
Non-executive
HM Revenue & Customs
£150,000 - £154,999
3 days per week

Steve Lamey
Director General Benefits & Credits
Director General
HM Revenue & Customs
£205,000 - £209,999

Simon Bowles
Chief Finance Officer
Director General
HM Revenue & Customs
£185,000 - £189,999

Phil Pavitt
Chief Information Officer
Director General
HM Revenue & Customs
£180,000 - £184,999

Mike Falvey
Chief People Officer
Director General
HM Revenue & Customs
£175,000 - £179,999

Lesley Strathie
Chief Executive Officer
Permanent Secretary
HM Revenue & Customs
£170,000 - £174,999

Dave Hartnett
Permanent Secretary For Tax
Permanent Secretary
HM Revenue & Customs
£160,000 - £164,999

Source: BBC

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"

Staying Power

Having joined HMRC in August 2008 as Chairman, Mike Clasper has now become an Non Executive Director of ITV (the company that gave us "Taking on The Taxman").

Clearly he must feel that the role of Chairman of HMRC is not that demanding.

For you see loyal readers, he holds down more than two roles (he was also recently appointed Chairman of Which?).

As per HMRC:

"Mike is a Non-Executive Director at ITV plc and Chairman of the West London Working Consortium. He has also recently been appointed Chairman of Which, a non-executive part-time post of two days a month."

I assume that none of these roles brings with it a conflict of interest?

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"

Judge Judy

Congratulations to Judy Clements OBE, who has recently been appointed by Mike Clasper Chairman of HMRC to take over from Dame Barbara Mills as Adjudicator from 20th April.

The role of the Adjudicator is to provide an "independent investigation of complaints that HMRC are unable to resolve".

How can the Adjudicator fulfil that independent role if the Adjudicator is selected and appointed by HMRC themselves?

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"

Board Appointments

The announcement by HMRC yesterday of the appointment four new non executive directors brings a wealth of experience to the board.

Colin Cobain was Chief Information Officer of Tesco and had been voted CIO of the Year.

Philippa Hird was, until recently, Group Human Resources Director of ITV.

Dame Sue Street played a vital part in winning the 2012 London Olympics bid.

The Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell, said:

"Sue Street has steered the DCMS through some very challenging times, positioning the department at the heart of Government, maximising links with the creative economy and culminating in the Olympic bid last year.

That success, and her leadership since, has seen Britain get off to a flying start as the host nation for the Olympics in 2012."

Factoid - the budget for the Olympics was originally under £3BN, it now stands at £12BN (including £2BN running costs).

Phil Hodkinson was group Finance Director of HBOS, until he retired at 50 in 2008. HBOS was bailed out by the government last year.

HBOS, according to The Times, could be "hollowed out" by its takeover partner Lloyds TSB.

I note that HMRC state the following:

"As Non-Executive Directors for HMRC they are bound by the rules on avoiding conflicts of interest as set out in HMRC guidance. This means they have to take all possible steps to protect themselves and the Department from allegations or perceptions of impropriety.

As chairman of HMRC, Mike Clasper will work with the Non-Executive Directors to help them avoid conflicts of interest, and he will take steps to ensure that they will not be involved in issues affecting an individual tax payer or groups of tax payers."

I also note that:

"Phil Hodkinson is currently an external adviser to the HMRC Senior Management Team and the Audit Committee. He has supported the department in the wake of the data loss and implementation of the Capability Review..."

Do my eyes deceive me, or is that not a conflict of interest that kind of involves issues affecting tax payers?

How will Clasper square that one then?

HMRC don't really get this Corporate Governance malarkey do they?

Tax does have to be taxing.

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New Head of HR

Accountancy Age reports that Mike Clasper (one of the "committee of three" running HMRC) is to recruit a new head of HR for HMRC.

As noted, the job spec requires the new HR head to inspire the thousands of demoralised staff whilst making a few thousand redundant.

Any takers?

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Who's In Charge? II

On 15 October I asked:

"So, who exactly is now in charge of HMRC out of the above three people...ie where does the buck now stop?"

Yesterday the FT asked the very same thing:

"The Revenue, which last year scored an own goal when it lost computer discs containing half the nation's bank details, also seems to have a plethora of chiefs. Instead of one boss - it used to be Paul Gray, who stepped down after the discs fiasco - it now has three. There is Mike Clasper, new chairman of the Revenue, though he is non-executive and part-time. Now Lesley Strathie, head of Jobcentre Plus at the Department for Work and Pensions, is to become chief executive officer, though she will be responsible mainly for the day-to-day running of the department rather than policy advice to ministers. Meanwhile, the affable Dave Hartnett, who has been acting head of HMRC, is to become permanent secretary, in charge of tax. I understand the smart money is on Mr Hartnett to call the shots even though Ms Strathie will technically be the boss.

I am told this uncertainty over who is going to be in charge has meant some Whitehall heavyweights refused to apply for the Revenue's top job - despite encouragement to do so. The names mentioned include Helen Ghosh, senior official at the environment department, Sir Leigh Lewis, head of DWP, and Rachel Lomax, former deputy governor of the Bank of England. "They wouldn't touch it because they felt accountability there was in such a muddle," says one senior figure.....

So which of HMRC's three bosses is going to be in charge of lost discs? "All three will have responsibility for data security.."

This muddled arrangement clearly will not work, and is an accident wating to happen.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Who's In Charge?

Congrats to Dave "Nearly man" Hartnett on his appointment as new "permanent secretary for tax".

Congrats to Lesley Strathie who has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of HM Revenue & Customs.

Both of the above appointments were announced by Mike Clasper (Chairman of HMRC).

So, who exactly is now in charge of HMRC out of the above three people...ie where does the buck now stop?

Tax does have to be taxing.

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