HMRC's New NED's Lack Tax Experience

HMRC have appointed two new Non Executive Directors to the board, neither of whom have any specific experience in tax or finance.

Mervyn Walker and Simon Ricketts have joined the HMRC Board as successors to Philippa Hird and Norman Pickavance, who recently left their roles.

Both appointees bring a wide range of senior management experience to the Board, which is tasked with helping HMRC to deliver its agenda and maximise its performance.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke said:

“These appointments provide a rich mix of Board-level experience in major corporations. They will bring new and further capability and credible challenge to Board discussions.”

Ian Barlow, HMRC Lead Non-Executive Director, said:

“I am delighted with these appointments. Simon Ricketts and Mervyn Walker both have vast experience to help HMRC face the challenges of the future. HMRC’s Chief Executive, Lin Homer, and I would also like to thank Philippa Hird and Norman Pickavance for their valuable contributions.”

Simon and Mervyn will take up their roles as Board members on 1 September. Philippa Hird retired from the Board after serving for five and a half years, and Norman Pickavance stepped down to take up an executive role with a private company.

Notes to Editors

1. Simon Ricketts is Chief Information Officer of Rolls Royce PLC, a position he has held since 2010, where he is accountable for IT and business process transformation. He has extensive experience of leading large and complex cross-functional transformation programmes, in particular IT, manufacturing, logistics and customer service. He has also held senior roles at Scottish and Newcastle PLC, Cadbury Schweppes and British Steel. His broad experience as a Non-Executive Director most recently involved seven years on the main Board and Audit Committees at the National Savings and Investment Bank.
2. Mervyn Walker has broad experience in a range of roles in large customer service and industrial companies. He has been Group Human Resources Director at three FTSE-listed companies – British Airways, Mondi and, most recently, Anglo American. He also has extensive experience of organisational transformation in large and complex organisations. A lawyer by background, Mervyn now holds a portfolio of non-executive roles.
3. HMRC’s Board brings together six members of the department’s Executive Committee and six Non-Executive Directors, who bring an external perspective to the Board’s advice.
4. More information on the HMRC Board, including its recruitment processes, can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/groups/hmrc-board

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Hypocrisy In Action

HMRC have appointed Volker Beckers to one of its Non Executive Director roles.

The appointment of Beckers has raised a few eyebrows because he was CEO of RWE npower, a company that hit the headlines last week after it emerged that it had paid no tax in the years 2009-2011.

An out of date CV of Beckers can be found on GOV.UK , aside from not mentioning his new role within HMRC it also neglects to mention the fact that he stepped down as Npower's CEO in January 2013 (although he does remain in an advisory capacity).

Ian Lavery MP, a member of the Commons Energy and Climate Change select committee, is quoted by the Guardian:

"(Chancellor) George Osborne has serious questions to answer about why he has appointed the boss of an energy firm which paid no corporation tax in the last three years, despite making £766m in profits, to the board of HMRC. HMRC has a bad enough record at stopping tax avoidance as it is."

EDF*OFF, a group set up to campaign against the dominance of the big six suppliers, is also unimpressed and claims that the appointment is deeply embarrassing for the HMRC at a time when it is trying to rebuild public trust following the departure of former head, Dave Hartnett, after signing much-criticised sweetheart tax deals with Goldman Sachs and then joining HSBC.

Npower says that the low tax payments result from the fact that the German-owned company has been investing billions of pounds in new gas and other power stations.

Meanwhile HMRC told the Guardian:

"Non-executive directors bring valuable external and commercial experience to HMRC. However, they are not responsible for the day-to-day management of HMRC, nor are they responsible for tax policy or for handling confidential individual or corporate taxpayer issues." 

I have absolutely no problem with companies/individuals arranging their affairs in order to reduce their tax bill. However, this government and HMRC have repeatedly voiced their opposition to tax avoidance; hence the appointment of Beckers seems a tad "out of kilter" with current government policy towards avoidance.

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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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



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 Appoints NED's

HMRC has annoucned the appointment of some new Non Executive Directors (NED's).

The full text of the press release is below:

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced the appointment of three new non-executive board members, as part of its ongoing governance arrangements.

Volker Beckers and Norman Pickavance joined the main board on 1 January 2013. John Whiting will take up a position on the board from 1 April 2013. The three will take on posts that became vacant after John Spence left last year, Phil Hodkinson left at the end of January this year and Ian Barlow’s success in the competition to become HMRC’s lead non-executive in September 2012.

In addition to main board roles, Volker Beckers will chair a new Scrutiny Committee, Norman Pickavance will join the People, Nominations and Governance Committee and John Whiting will chair the Audit and Risk Committee from 1 April 2013.

The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke MP, said:

“These appointments provide a rich mix of board-level experience. They have a lot to offer the HMRC board and will bring new and further capability and credible challenge to board discussions and to the new executive team.”

Chief Executive Lin Homer said:

“I am delighted with these appointments. They all have vast experience to share with HMRC which will help us as we face the challenges of the future. I’d also like to thank both John Spence and Phil Hodkinson for their valuable contributions to HMRC over the past five years and wish them all the best in their future endeavours.”

HMRC also announced the appointment of Edwina Dunn, Janet Williams, Leslie Ferrar and Paul Smith to further strengthen HMRC board committees. Edwina Dunn will take up an adviser role to the main board, Janet Williams will be appointed to the Scrutiny and People, Nominations and Governance Committees, and Leslie Ferrar and Paul Smith will take up roles on the Audit and Risk Committee.

Lead non-executive Ian Barlow said:

“These appointments create a group of non executives with a wide range of skills and experience, including the management of change in large-scale organisations, customer service, building and advising small businesses, and financial and tax expertise. We look forward to working with our executive colleagues on the board to help them achieve HMRC’s challenging objectives.”

Notes for editors
1. Volker Beckers has been Group Chief Executive of RWE Npower since January 2010. He has led large change programmes and has a very strong focus on public and customer engagement. He joined the energy company RWE AG in 1993 and became Group Chief Financial Officer of RWE Npower in 2003. Before joining RWE he worked in the IT industry in Germany and ran CompuNet’s (today Computacenter) education and training centre, before moving to their consultancy arm.

2. Norman Pickavance has experience in HR and organisational development, most recently as Group HR & Communications Director of WM Morrisons Supermarkets Plc, a 130,000-strong organisation. He previously worked in manufacturing and other international and high tech businesses. He has also been a Non-Executive Director with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and has worked at board level for over a decade.

3. John Whiting is currently the Tax Director of the Office of Tax Simplification and the Tax Policy Director of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT). He will be stepping down from the latter role but will remain involved with the CIOT. Previously, he was a tax partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 25 years. He was awarded the OBE in 2008 for services to the tax profession.

4. Edwina Dunn is the co-founder of Dunnhumby, which became the leader in data mining and analysis, using the insight to help improve customers’ retail and brand experience, including the key to the introduction of the market-leading Tesco Clubcard.

5. Janet Williams has recently retired as a Deputy Assistant Commissioner from the Metropolitan Police Service, where she led the protective security commands. She has a breadth of experience in serious and organised crime investigations and was the national law enforcement lead for cyber-crime.

6. Leslie Ferrar was the Treasurer to TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. Leslie also holds a number of other non-executive positions. She was previously a tax partner at KPMG.

7. Paul Smith is a former Finance Director of Ford UK and has board-level experience from across both the public and private sectors in health, housing, transport and other government departments.

8. The board will comprise six non executives and six executives, six women and six men.

9. The position of Lead Non Executive was created after the departure of Mike Clasper as Chairman of HMRC in August 2012.

10. The new non-executive directors will be paid £15,000 a year; those who chair board committees will be paid £20,000 a year.

11. Picture caption: HMRC’s non-executive board members (left to right): Phil Hodkinson (leaving HMRC at end of January), Colin Cobain, Ian Barlow, Philippa Hird, Volker Beckers, Edwina Dunn, Norman Pickavance.

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



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"