HMRC Rigs IR35 Minutes

As I have noted before, HMRC is perfectly happy to rig things in order to present itself in the most favourable light eg

HMRC Rigs Staff Surveys - Latest Update https://t.co/tgSYcAJkdI #Solar #fees #Please #Service #Tax #Insurance pic.twitter.com/qICwPHe5gd

— Ken Frost (@ken_frost) October 4, 2017

Therefore it should come as no surprise top learn that it also rigged the minutes of July's IR35 Forum.

Contractor UK reports that two advisers to contractors have raised serious concerns about July’s IR35 Forum after a member broke cover with ContractorUK to exclusively criticise the meeting’s minutes.

Status expert Kate Cottrell, who attended, was first to reveal that rather than being a straight record of the meeting, the minutes were “just a one-sided view” -- HMRC’s, of how IR35 reforms it made in April have bedded in.

Since publication of her article last Wednesday, similar concerns have now been raised by both the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed -- another IR35 Forum member, and Qdos, a non-member who specialises in IR35 contract reviews.

“The recent minutes do not accurately reflect the frank discussions at the July meeting and I have today expressed my concern about this to HMRC,” the association’s James Collings said on Thursday.

He added:

“In the meeting, myself and other stakeholders raised serious concerns about the significant failings of, and damage created by, the rollout of IR35 changes in the public sector.

However, these conversations were not captured in the official minutes, which were published without forum members being informed.”  

He who writes the minutes controls history!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Where's The Minutes?

Why are there no executive committee minutes published on the HMRC website after 12 June 2007?

Have they stopped having meetings, or is it that they don't want the humble taxpayer to read what they have been discussing?

Oh, my mistake, seemingly there haven't been any meetings since then:

"The next meeting of the Executive Committee will be on the 30th January 09.00AM, room 4/58.1, 100 Parliament Street, London."

Why the hell not?

They were pretty regular up until June, and there have been quite a few "issues" (resignations, datagate, possible strike action etc etc) arising since then.

Who's actually running this organisation?

Other meetings, or their minutes, seem to be on hold as well, eg:

- the last minutes posted for the Departmental Board meeting were dated August 2007

- the last minutes posted for the audit committee meeting were dated September 2006!

- the last minutes posted for the operating committee meeting were dated August 2006

What the hell's going on?

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Customer Satisfaction

As we rapidly approach the deadline (31 January) for the submission of tax forms etc, accountants and tax professionals around the country are beavering away working their way through the myriad of forms and rules that HMRC imposes upon the taxpayers of Britain.

Suffice to say this is a rather busy time of the year for tax professionals, and they can do without interruptions and distractions.

I was therefore rather "surprised" to receive an email from a fellow accountant who told me that HMRC are currently conducting telephone Customer Satisfaction Surveys of accountants and agents this month.

He told me that a very nice young lady had telephoned one of his partners yesterday asking if he would care to take part in a 10 minute telephone survey, assessing their working relationship with HMRC.

When told that they were too busy to speak to her on that day, would she mind telephoning back in February, the reply was that the Revenue want the survey conducting Friday or Monday so that they can assess the results by the month end!

Do the HMRC actually understand what people have to do to complete their tax forms?

Does this mean that non replies will allow HMRC will award themselves a "satisfactory" response?

Why the rush?

It seems to me that this is another rushed "initiative" from HMRC to try to appease their political masters, and convince Brown/Darling and the taxpayer that HMRC is a responsive "customer focused" organisation.

It hasn't!

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Brown Rewrites History

Gordon Brown, architect of HMRC, apparently is not averse to employing the "Orwellian" strategy (as espoused in "1984") of re writing history to suit his own ends.

The difference between the Brown's method, and that detailed in "1984" is that Orwell assumed that a reasonable period of time would elapse between an event happening and the state adjusting history. Brown wades in within minutes of an event and rewrites it, especially if that event concerns his beloved HMRC.

When HRMC's acting head David Hartnett revealed last week that there had already been seven significant data losses at HMRC, he was asked directly if it indicated systemic failure at HMRC.

Hartnett said:

"I think ... it may well do."

That is a matter of public record.

However, Gordon Brown was asked about it a few hours later and flatly denied that Hartnett had ever made the comment.

Quote:

"I don't accept that that is what the chairman (Hartnett)...said..."

Rumour has it that Brown will soon be saying that the HMRC did not lose the personal data of 25 million people.

With people like this running the country we are well and truly fucked!

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Disgruntled Lemmings

Not surprisingly, given the recent "kerfuffle" at the HMRC, morale amongst the hapless staff of this much maligned organisation is at an all time low.

Seemingly the employees have requested punchbags, squeeze balls and aromatherapy in order to relieve the stress that they feel.

What about the tax payers who have to deal with HMRC?

These demands had been posted on an HMRC staff discussion website (www.disgruntled-lemmings.com) which has been taken offline.

HMRC have stated that the website is not one of theirs.

Here is what the site looked like in July 2007 Disgruntled Lemmings.

Those of you who are keen to search a bit more on Google etc for caches may be pleased to know that HMRC staff are normal human beings, just like ourselves.

I was heartened to read the profile of one tax credits adviser in Newcastle, who lists among her interests "drugs".

Another member of HMRC lists his interests as "fucking up binis" (I believe that they emanate from Africa).

How very "reassuring" that HMRC staff have such eclectic hobbies, and are so cavalier with their personal information.

Fortunately they would never be so indiscreet with the personal information of their customers....oh, hang on a minute...