Showing posts with label national insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label national insurance. Show all posts

Wednesday, 16 October 2024

HMRC Community Noted For NI Lie on Twitter


 

HMRC recently tweeted a blatant lie about NI payments being a forward payment for the state pension. 

Unsurprisingly HMRC was duly slagged off by all and sundry, and also received a Community Note for their troubles.

Suffice to say, HMRC were forced to delete the tweet!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Tax Investigation Insurance

Market leading tax fee protection insurance for businesses, sole traders and individuals. Protect yourself from accountancy fees in the event of an HMRC enquiry.

Having a Solar Protect Tax Investigation Insurance policy at your disposal means that should you be one of the many 1000's of businesses or individuals that are selected by HMRC each year to look into your tax affairs your own accountant (your tax return agent) can get on and defend you robustly.

You have the peace of mind knowing that your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees will be paid by the insurance without any Excess for you to find.

Tax Investigation Insurance is an insurance policy that will fully reimburse your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees up to £100,000 if you are subject to enquiry by or dispute with HMRC.

A Solar Protect policy will enable your accountant (your tax return agent) to:

  • Deal with any correspondence from HMRC
  • Attend any meeting with HMRC
  • Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal
  • Having the security of knowing that fees will be met in full will enable your Accountant (your tax return agent) to defend your position robustly

Please click here for details.

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"

Monday, 10 May 2021

The Rise of The MUCs


 

Seemingly, more than 40,000 people from the Philippines have been recruited to front British companies as part of schemes costing the UK "hundreds of millions of pounds" in lost taxes.

BBC Radio 4's File on 4 discovered more than 48,000 of these companies have been created in the past five years.

Some staff at Covid test centres run by G4S have been employed by subcontractors in this kind of scheme.

G4S said that, when this came to its attention, HMRC was notified.

The company said it was taking steps to ensure that all agency workers were employed directly and not via a subcontractor.

Employers pay 13.8% in National Insurance contributions on most of their employees' earnings, if the employee earns more than £170 a week.

It works by exploiting the government's Employment Allowance - an annual discount of £4,000 per company on National Insurance contributions. The allowance was meant to encourage companies to take on more workers.

However, recruitment agencies exploit the allowance by employing temporary workers through a series of mini umbrella companies - or "MUCs".

Each individual MUC has only a small number of workers and qualifies for the tax relief. These kind of arrangements can cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions in lost tax revenue a year. 

HMRC said it was using both its criminal and civil powers to challenge what it called "MUC fraud" - and recently deregistered more than 22,000 mini umbrella companies thought to be involved in such schemes.

It says it has made a number of arrests and taken steps to recover unpaid tax from businesses which knew or should have known about fraud in their supply chain.


Tax does have to be taxing.

Tax Investigation Insurance

Having a Solar Protect Tax Investigation Insurance policy at your disposal means that should you be one of the many 1000's of businesses or individuals that are selected by HMRC each year to look into your tax affairs your own accountant (your tax return agent) can get on and defend you robustly.

You have the peace of mind knowing that your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees will be paid by the insurance without any Excess for you to find.

Tax Investigation Insurance is an insurance policy that will fully reimburse your accountants (your tax return agent) fees up to £100,000 if you are subject to enquiry by or dispute with HMRC.

A Solar Protect policy will enable your Accountant (your tax return agent) to:
  • Deal with any correspondence from HMRC
  • Attend any meeting with HMRC
  • Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal
  • Having the security of knowing that fees will be met in full will enable your Accountant (your tax return agent) to defend your position robustly

Please click here for details.

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"

Wednesday, 19 April 2017

HMRC Ignorance About NIC On Display


My thanks to a loyal twitter chum and reader for drawing this to my attention:

Please feel free to comment!

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"

Wednesday, 22 March 2017

HMRC Inserts Errors Into Tax Returns


Seemingly HMRC is introducing errors into self-employed individuals’ tax returns, resulting in their failure to pay sufficient National Insurance.

According to the Telegraph, the errors relate to changes to the NI system announced by the previous government. From April 2015, workers’ “Class 2” National Insurance contributions have been declared on self-assessment tax returns. Previously they had been paid to HMRC by direct debit.
The £2.80 per week charge is supposed to be paid by all self-employed individuals and partners in partnerships, and counts towards individuals’ entitlement to state pension and maternity leave.

However, many taxpayers now find that where they submitted tax returns that correctly reported their Class 2 NIC liability, HMRC is actively “correcting” such returns by removing the Class 2 NIC liability. This appears to be “because the self-assessment system does not expect it to be paid”, accountants speculated.

George Bull, a tax expert at accounting firm RSM, said he and his colleagues initially detected a few cases of this error and were now seeing new incidences emerging on a “daily basis”. It was not affecting every self-employed individual’s return, Mr Bull said.

HMRC’s frontline staff have acknowledged the errors to accountants, and say they are due to a “technical fault” with HMRC systems that has been “reported internally”.

The concern is that individuals will either not spot the “correction” made by HMRC or believe that the removal of NI contributions from their return is correct.

“The problem is self-employed who file who see an adjustment coming through, which is probably in their favour and small – the risk is they will breathe a sigh of relief and think they don’t owe HMRC any more and leave it at that.

Then after 30 days, on the face of it, the whole thing is final. The issue is not so much the repayment itself, but the fact that if the NIC record is amended to show zero contributions for a year, people risk losing benefits as their record will become incomplete.”

HMRC initially denied the problem.

It later admitted the errors, but claimed that they affected only a “handful of people”.

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"

Tuesday, 14 March 2017

Paul Johnson Admits NICs Are a Con



Paul Johnson (Director of the IFS) states what we knew already, NICs are a con and that the money simply goes into one large pot that the state uses to pay for whatever it wants.

Needless to say this will be used by the state to lump NICs into mainstream tax, thus slipping in a tax rise by the back door!

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"

Thursday, 9 March 2017

Hammond's First and Last Spring Budget


My sympathies to all tax bods and taxpayers out there who may be working out the ramifications of the Hammond's tinkering with Class 4 NI.

I guarantee it will be nixed in the coming days!

Tax and HMRC would run far more smoothly if politicians stopped tinkering and fart arsing around with taxes!

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"

Wednesday, 25 January 2017

HMRC's 22 Year Error


I appreciate that cock ups occur in life. However, I am having trouble believing that one involving a duplicate NI number and an erroneous tax demand could have gone on for 22 years without being corrected.

The Daily Record recently reported that Darren O’Neill was shocked to find that he had a namesake – with the same national insurance number.

Some 22 years down the line, he was no nearer to resolving his identity crisis.

Darren, 42, said:
“I can’t take much more of this. I am weary trying to explain to the Revenue that I’m being confused with another Darren O’Neill.

We have the same name but different middle names. He lives in Lincolnshire and I live in West Lothian. I’m at the end of my tether.”

Darren, a former surveyor, first spotted the problem when he finished an apprenticeship in 1995.
I began looking for work and tried to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance while I was doing that.

But I was told I couldn’t claim because I was working.

This was ridiculous because I wasn’t working – I was looking for work.

I spoke to the tax office about it, they admitted their error and I breathed a sigh of relief.

This other Darren had an identical reference number. So they issued me with a temporary number supposedly for a year while they sorted things out.
When he started working again, Darren, of Bo’ness, was told to revert to the original number.

He said:
I recall moving jobs a couple of times and my employers telling me my NI number was wrong.

But each time I approached HMRC, they apologised, assured me they had solved things and I just kept paying into the system.”
However, in 2010 he received a letter issuing him with a new tax code and claiming he worked for the NHS in Lincolnshire.

I then got a P800 claiming I’d underpaid tax on my salary of more than £30,000.
I couldn’t believe it. I wish I had an income like that.”
Two years later, HMRC wrote to say they would collect the underpayment through his tax code.
It was difficult enough making ends meet without deductions for repayment of tax I didn’t owe. But things seemed to be sorted again after I complained and pointed out their error.
When he tried to claim universal credit in November, following a shoulder op, the DWP insisted he was in work.

Darren said:
I’ve been to my MP and Citizens Advice but I’m getting nowhere. I’m fed up filling in forms. Please help.”
HMRC are now "on the case" to resolve the issue.

A spokesman said:
We don’t discuss individual cases but, where a National Insurance record is not up to date, we do all we can to help customers identify any missing credits.”
How on earth can an error like this go unresolved for 22 years?

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"

Wednesday, 5 October 2016

HMRC Class 2 NIC Classification Foul Up


My thanks to a loyal reader who flagged up an issue with HMRC's Class 2 NIC classifications and an HMRC system update that went wrong:
"We had a client, self employed for many years, and submitted his 2016 tax return as normal. This year the Class 2 NIC is collected with the self assessed tax, and was duly included in the calculation.

HMRC immediately issued a fresh calculation, excluding the Class 2, so I phoned to ask why? After a long delay I was put through to their NIC office where I had to explain the problem all over again.

It appears that the client was listed as a "voluntary" payer of Class 2, something apparently reserved for exam markers and similar taxpayers. It also seems that their update of their system went wrong, and a number of taxpayers (sorry customers) were wrongly flagged.

He advised that he would amend the client's status, and that I should file the return again. I pointed out that we'd already filed a correct return, and that the fault lay in their system, so it was up to them to correct their own error. He didn't see it that way.

Welcome to the world of HMRC, where they screw things up and expect us to fix them....

.....I've now written to them quoting a price for re-filing tax returns and requesting confirmation that they will reimburse the client."
Has anyone else experienced this problem?

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"

Tuesday, 5 April 2016

HMRC To Enter EU Referendum Campaign


Having been pressured by the Treasury Select Committee, HMRC will reveal the number of EU migrants working in the UK. The figures, in theory, will be presented towards the end of April.

The data will identify how many National Insurance numbers are actively being used by people from the European Economic Area (EEA), how many have paid national insurance contributions or PAYE income tax or have claimed any HMRC administrated tax credit or benefits.

Economia reports that ONS figures have shown that 904,000 EU nationals moved to UK in the last five years, but 2.25 million NI numbers were issued during this period. This is a gap of 1.3 million EU migrants living in the UK.

HMRC will need to be careful that it is not drawn into the spat between the "In and Out" factions in the EU referendum debate.

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"

Tuesday, 9 February 2016

HMRC Pension Problems



As the state pension system moves to flat rate in April, National Insurance contributions will determine the level of pension received.

All perfectly normal and logical. However, there appear to be difference between the records held by HMRC and employers. As such, there is a risk that some pensioners will be over paid and others underpaid.

HMRC has claimed “no pensioners will lose out” due to faulty data supplied by their employers pension schemes.
A spokesperson for HMRC has told the FT Adviser that it is working closely with pension funds to make sure their records are completely up to date, while all pension providers should use the official checking service to make sure their members’ records are accurate.
HMRC is offering a free reconciliation service to enable the schemes to match their records against HMRCs, based on employers’ PAYE returns. This service has been available for nearly two years and HMRC urges employers to register for it before the deadline of 5 April.

For individuals shortly reaching their state pension age there is a fast track service to ensure they get the correct pension.”
Let us see how this all ends up working out!

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"

Thursday, 21 May 2015

HMRC Software




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"

Thursday, 20 February 2014

The Bugger's Muddle of Complexity


It is self evident that the tax and benefits system in the UK is a "bugger's muddle" of complex rules and regulations, that confuse all who try to understand them.

An example of the confusion and misery that the rules cause is that of Lee Owen, whose family business (Jubilee Engineering) closed down in January.

Mr Owen, who was a partner in the firm with his father, has subsequently tried to claim jobseeker's allowance. Unfortunately, because he paid class 1 and class 2 national insurance (as opposed to class 1) for the last 3 years, he has been told by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that he is not eligible for the allowance.

Mr Owen claims that HMRC told him to pay class 2 and 3 national insurance and not class 1.
It should be noted that from the age of 16 until 3 years ago Mr Owen did pay class 1 national insurance.

He is quoted by the Gloucestershire Echo:
I haven’t been able to claim a penny from the state.
After all the tears and upset of losing the business and then this with the benefit claim, the two things sent me over the edge.

I just think it’s appalling - I paid my national insurance since I left school at 16.
I just think the whole system is totally mixed up. I’ve worked in this country all my life and yet I can’t claim anything.” 

Jobseeker's allowance is administered by the DWP, and because the civil service does not do "joined up" thinking one department will naturally pass the buck to another. Hence Lisa Billard, for HMRC, said:
The payment of Jobseeker’s Allowance is a matter for the DWP. HMRC is unable to comment on the tax affairs of individual people, however I have referred this to the appropriate team who handle national insurance matters.

Further information about national insurance can be found at hmrc.gov.uk/NI.” 
It is interesting to note from the comment above that despite passing the buck to DWP, HMRC still appears to be reviewing the issue in house.

Meanwhile Steve Milne, for the DWP, said:
Eligibility for contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) is only for those paying class 1 national insurance.

People who were self-employed may still be eligible for income-based JSA but that depends on their household income and savings.”
This of course is all very well for those who like to tick boxes, but Mr Owen and his family need practical help now not in the medium/long term when the issue has been passed around various in house teams and administrators.

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"

Monday, 14 November 2011

A Slurry of Consultations



The government and HMRC are keen to show everyone that they are very busy bees, and most certainly do not want to try to overload taxpayers with a deluge of consultations that ensures poorly drafted legislation and procedures are pushed through without proper consideration.

To this end the Exchequer Secretary, David Gauke, proudly announced a number of consultations that have arrived (much like a long awaited bus) all at once.

Consultation number one sets out the Government’s vision for a more transparent, open, and easier to understand personal tax system. Modernising the Administration of the Personal Tax System sets out a range of ideas how people can more easily access information on their personal taxes. 

The Government wants taxpayers, representative bodies, and tax professionals to give their views on:
  • what taxpayers know about the tax they pay;
  • what areas of the personal tax system create the most difficulty;
  • how technology can help them better access and understand their tax position; and
  • how we can engage with individual taxpayers in hearing their views on how the tax system could be modernised.

Additionally, the Government also published a paper setting out the next steps in its work on looking at the options to integrate the operation of income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs). The Government is establishing technical working groups to identify and explore options over the coming months, and is looking for employers, tax and payroll professionals to join these groups.

Finally, just in case the above two papers didn't quite hit the mark, the government also published draft regulations for the introduction of Real Time Information.

Good luck with getting through that lot then!



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"

Friday, 11 March 2011

Simple!

Simple!

I see that the Office of Tax Simplification is in favour of merging income tax and national insurance.

Renaming the con trick of NI (it most certainly is not a ring fenced insurance scheme, but is merely another tax) is all very well.

However, this recommendation will be used by politicians to raise taxes as the limits on NI will be removed, and an additonal tax of 10% will be lumped into the current rates.

Simple!

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"

Wednesday, 26 January 2011

Unreconciled

My thanks to a loyal reader who sent me a link to this parliamentary question and answer regarding unreconciled NI payments, dated 24 January 2011:

Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater and West Somerset, Conservative)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many national insurance (NI) contributions deducted from pay and recorded on form P14 were not credited to NI accounts in each year since 5 April 2004; and what the monetary value is of the contributions yet to be credited.

David Gauke (Exchequer Secretary, HM Treasury; South West Hertfordshire, Conservative)

The number of unmatched P14s and the associated monetary values of the contributions received for the tax years requested are as follows:

Tax year P14s not matched Monetary value of contributions (£)
2004-05 1,839,143 263,101,931.24
2005-06 2,016,761 289,212,918.76
2006-07 1,974,081 278,618,228.99
2007-08 1,947,065 258,603,899.93
2008-09 1,542,773 194,623,653.05
2009-10 (1)- (1)-

(1) Figures not yet available.


The levels seems reasonably consistent. The next question Liddell-Grainger needs to ask is, how many and what value of these still remains unreconciled.

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"

Tuesday, 28 September 2010

Debt Collection Issues

DebtIn June I wrote:

"A loyal reader (who runs a small business) advises me that last week he got a letter from HMRC claiming that he had missed PAYE and NIC payments for the period 6th April to 5th May 2010.

Fair enough, except that he pays these quarterly and the amounts were not yet due for that particularly quarter.

On calling HMRC using the number given on the letter he was told 'it's because of the new penalty rules, this letter has gone out to all quarterly payers'
.."

It seems that there are still issues wrt HMRC chasing up payments that are not yet due.

Accountancy Age report that Alan Boby, tax partner at Ellacotts, has highlighted the same issue with one of his clients who pays PAYE and national insurance on a quarterly basis.

The client had been contacted by HMRC's debt collection division on 15 September, a month before their latest quarterly payment of around £700, which is not due until 19 October.

When Ellacotts approached HMRC on their client's behalf, they were told that demands for unpaid PAYE and national insurance for July and August 2010 had gone out and the client had been wrongly caught up in the trawl.

Boby claims that there have been other cases, which have led to HMRC issuing internal instructions to their offices informing them that demands had been made by mistake for monthly PAYE to employers who only needed to pay quarterly.

HMRC are quoted:

"HMRC does not recognise the scenario described.

We can confirm that no current PAYE debts whatsoever have been placed with
debt collection agencies
."

Feel free to comment if you have received a demand for a payment not yet due to HMRC from a debt collection agency.

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"

Monday, 2 August 2010

New PAYE System

IT
HMRC have published a consultation that proposes that every employee be given a single computerised tax account, which will combine employment and NI records. HMRC will then have real time information on all of the payments made.

HMRC want the new system to be running within the lifetime of the current government.

However, given HMRC's track record wrt IT implementation, not everyone is convinced that this will happen according to plan/timeframe.

Accountancy Age quote, Lesley Fidler, tax director at Baker Tilly:

"While it is important that there be aspirational goals for our tax system, HMRC does not have a strong record of implementing IT projects.

Anyone who was involved with the short-lived attempt at paying tax credits via the payroll will hope that this fresh initiative will be fully researched, adequately piloted and sufficiently funded before it goes live
."

Given the proposed cuts in government expenditure, and HMRC's past track record wrt IT projects I am inclined to agree with Ms Fidler that this may be an aspiration that is a "tad overoptimistic".

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"

Monday, 21 June 2010

Time Wasting


A loyal reader (who runs a small business) advises me that last week he got a letter from HMRC claiming that he had missed PAYE and NIC payments for the period 6th April to 5th May 2010.

Fair enough, except that he pays these quarterly and the amounts were not yet due for that particularly quarter.

On calling HMRC using the number given on the letter he was told "it's because of the new penalty rules, this letter has gone out to all quarterly payers".

He was told to phone another number to get the fact he was a quarterly payer recorded properly.

He rang the number, and was told that it was the wrong number; a new number was given to him.

The new number given, when called, gave a recorded message "this number is currently unavailable".

Several days of fruitless ringing, and he then re rang the first number (the one on the letter).

This time the call centre operative was able/willing to update the records there and then!

Have other quarterly PAYE/NIC payers had to endure the same time wasting "game of hide and seek" enforced on them 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"

Wednesday, 31 March 2010

Undemocratic


The Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW) has issued an unusually strongly worded attack on HMRC wrt to "draconian" new HMRC powers that could force late payers of employment taxes into liquidation.

The ICAEW describes them as "wrong in principle and undemocratic".

The new measures, to be introduced in April 2011, will allow HMRC to demand financial security from businesses that regularly fail to remit PAYE and NI contributions on time or at all.

Businesses that refuse to provide security will be liable to a fine of £5K, as it would be deemed a criminal offence.

Frank Haskew of the ICAEW told the FT that he fears that HMRC's measures will also hit legitimate businesses that have difficulties paying tax because of cashflow problems.

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"

Thursday, 11 June 2009

IT Upgrade

IT Upgrade
Director of Finance writes that HMRC will be implementing a much needed major IT upgrade, which will create one single record of an individual's PAYE pay and tax and National Insurance details.

There will be a temporary period of planned service interruption from 12 June 2009.

Fingers crossed it goes according to plan, as all IT upgrades (in both the private and public sectors) always do.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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"