Rats Leave The Sinking Ship

Jennie Granger, HMRC’s director general for customer compliance, is to leave HMRC to rebalance her life. As per CCH Daily:

"Now that the customer compliance group is firmly established it feels like the right moment to hand over to a new leader. It’s also time for a little bit of rebalancing for me personally."

This bodes badly for MTD:

@taxbod @ken_frost @accountancylive she's the architect of MTD it's all she was brought in for. Oops

— Sue Christensen (@taxqueen49) April 5, 2017

Oh and by the way, it seems that Ian Barlow (chair of HMRC and lover of candy) has also gone!

@cscth @JV8P @taxqueen49 @ken_frost @accountancylive Yep. The new Private Eye refers. He quietly went just before the latest Candy Bros. case started in the High Court.

— Andrew Brooks (@taxbod) April 5, 2017

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Ruth Owen To Leave HMRC

My thanks to a loyal reader who dropped me this HMRC announcement about Ruth Owen:

"HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, Ruth Owen, is to leave the Civil Service in May.

Ruth joined the Civil Service 27 years ago, starting in a local Social Security office. After a career in operational delivery, project delivery and strategy she joined HMRC to lead Personal Tax in 2012, before becoming our first Director General for Customer Services last year.

We’ll be able to share more details on Ruth's future plans in the next few weeks.

Ruth said: “I have loved my time in HMRC and I leave feeling immensely proud of what we have achieved. The last five years have seen some significant changes in the service we provide to our customers, the way we think about our customers as well as how we do business and how we work together. I know I will greatly miss so many fantastic people and teams, who I’ve been privileged to work with over the last five years. All our achievements are down to the passion, commitment and hard work of Team HMRC and our shared desire to make a difference.

“It has been a difficult decision to leave. We are now embarking on an exciting new phase of Building our Future, aiming to be the best customer service organisation in the UK, and offering world-class digital services, which our customers really rate. But I have a one-off opportunity to try a different career in the private sector that will offer me new challenges and the opportunity to develop a new set of skills.

“I have particularly enjoyed working under both Lin and Jon’s leadership. I feel really optimistic and confident in HMRC’s future and wish Jon and my ExCom colleagues well in steering the department towards our vision.”

Jon Thompson, Chief Executive, said: “Ruth will be hard to replace; her energy and dedication to brilliant customer services is an inspiration. Ruth’s experience and insight will be missed around the ExCom table and her drive for ever greater performance will be missed in Customer Services, but I wish her well as she embarks on a new career in the private sector.”

We’ll shortly announce who will lead Customer Services Group in the interim, and HMRC will begin an open competition for a new Director General very shortly."

Leaving to join the private sector, anyone know where?

Tax does have to be taxing.

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To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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Mark Dearnley Quits HMRC

In June this year I wrote about Mark Dearnley's (HMRC's chief digital and information officer who joined in October 2013 from Vodafone) appearance before PAC:

"Dearnley told PAC this week that the new company had been set up specifically to provide "a better employment offer for the staff coming in from the private sector", including better base pay and pensions than could be expected as direct employees of HMRC.

However, he is quoted by Public Technology:

"It is limited by the pay cap.
But it does have a different salary scale and remuneration structure, so in that, we've been able to put together what we believe is a much more appropriate offer for people coming in from the private sector."

Adding:

"I'm sure this will be an ongoing topic of conversation with the Treasury over the next few years."

His last comment about having an ongoing discussion with the Treasury for years is somewhat ironic, as it transpires he is leaving HMRC in September for pastures new in the private sector.

This may cause a few headaches within HMRC, as PAC warned that management needs to be stable during the transition from Aspire. As per PAC:

“HMRC is now making progress in replacing the Aspire contract, but moving to a new model of IT provision remains a substantial undertaking which will require firm and consistent leadership.

As we have seen from elsewhere in government, one of the main factors that determines the success of complex programmes such as this is the quality and stability of their leadership.”

PAC must have had an inkling that he was about to abandon ship, as they asked HMRC at the time if was going to stay. HMRC rresponded that they were in negotiations with him!

As per Computer Weekly, Dearnley gave a valedictory statement about his almost 3 years in HMRC:

"We have replaced our outdated internal IT, launched digital tax accounts for individuals and businesses, and have successfully concluded negotiations to dismantle the Aspire IT contract, taking more direct control of the design and delivery of our digital technology services at huge cost savings for HMRC.

We have also built one of the strongest digital technology teams in the world, and I am confident that they will continue to deliver HMRC’s IT transformation at pace.”

Any guesses as to which company he will join?

Who knows, maybe he will get to sell into HMRC advice and/or software as it moves towards its glorious digital future?

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

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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?

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To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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Simon Bowles Leaving HMRC

My thanks to a loyal reader who has posted a comment that Simon Bowles (ex Arthur Andersen who joined HMRC in March 2009 as CFO) is leaving HMRC:

"More rats now deserting the sinking ship - chief finance officer Simon Bowles has announced he is buggering off. Place your bets on the next one.........."

In June 2010 David Cameron released a list of civil servants who were paid more than him, Bowles was on that list:

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

As far as I can see the details (eg date, future plans etc) have not yet been made public.

Please shout if you have any further details, thanks.

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.

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However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

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To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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Jumping Ship

On Wednesday I wrote:

"the number of resignations by senior managers at HMRC has ‘jumped sharply’ during the year to 31 March 2012, increasing by 45% when compared to the previous year."

Senior managers are defined as senior civil servants at grades 6 and 7, earning at least £47K per annum.

All very well and good when looking at the "upper echelons" of HMRC, but what about those who work at the coalface?

Is the employment situation more stable there?

Apparently not, according to Economia 1629 HMRC staff resigned during the same period (an increase of  48% when compared with the 1100 who resigned in 2010-11).

The department that suffered the highest number of resignations was personal tax, with 1187, a 71% increase from only 695 in 2010-11.

Enforcement and compliance saw 281 resignations.

The haemorrhaging of expertise and experience from HMRC is neither good for HMRC nor the taxpayers who have to deal with HMRC.

BTW, off topic, Lin Homer seems to be keeping a very low public profile these days. Has anyone seen her recently?

Tax does have to be taxing.



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HMRC Senior Managers Jumping Ship

Despite the ongoing PR spin coming forth from the HMRC bunker that all is well, and that things are improving, reality appears not to be quite so rosy.

UHY Hacker Young report that the number of resignations by senior managers at HMRC has ‘jumped sharply’ during the year to 31 March 2012, increasing by 45% when compared to the previous year.

Despite the fact that HMRC desperately needs to retain experienced professionals (especially during a time of massive upheaval and change), 42 senior managers resigned during this period.

Roy Maugham, tax partner, is quoted by Tax Journal:

"The loss of senior management from HMRC could impact many others in the organisation too.

It’s important for HMRC to hang on to its most experienced staff and their in-depth technical skills. With big cuts to staffing numbers and a sharp increase in resignations, there are a lot of skills walking out of the door at HMRC."

HMRC appear not to be worried, their spokesperson said:

"Overall, resignations at HMRC have fallen over the last four years and, in a department of around 68,000 staff, it is inevitable that some will decide to leave or retire.

HMRC is committed to providing stability and good service to our customers. We have already increased the accuracy of tax codes to 98%, announced the recruitment of an extra 1,000 people to answer the phones, and increased tax yield year-on-year."

There is of course a solution, albeit an expensive one. In the private sector when people retire or are made redundant, many invariably come back as consultants (at a higher rate of pay and cost).

How can this be, if the redundancies were made to reduce headcount?

Simples....consultants don't appear on the headcount!

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.

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What is TAXWISE?

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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

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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.

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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

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Curiouser and Curiouser II

My thanks to the loyal reader who posted the text of Lesley Strathie's News Board message to the troops, telling them all to keep sending her emails (see below).

It seems The Grande Dame wrote it in a hurry (as there is a grammatical error - well spotted by the loyal reader!).

The underlying "message" within the message is that she wants you to believe that she is coming back.

She is not coming back.

As to the precise date of the announcement of her departure, GOD knows.

The Kremlinologists amongst my loyal readers may want to think about that.

The text:

 "As I explained my message (sic) to you on 19 July, whilst I am out of the office, Mike Clasper, HMRCs non-executive chairman, will provide leadership and direction to the Department on my behalf as Chief Executive. Dave Hartnett, Permanent Secretary for Tax, has taken on the role of Principal Accounting Officer (PAO) on an interim basis, and will be accountable for the Department's performance and the money we collect and spend.

Although the work is being managed differently for a while, emails should continue to be directed to me, and my Office will either action, or re-allocate to Dave Hartnett or Mike Clasper accordingly. 

This is important for ensuring there is a clear handover and audit trail for my return.

I very much look forward to being back with you all in the autumn."

Finished with a flourish of a photocopied signature of DLS, dated 31 August 2011.

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"

Something For The Weekend - Hail Hail Thane of Cawdor

As the weekend makes a very welcome appearance over the horizon of a particularly long and tedious week, what do you make of the gossip about Dave "Jack" Hartnett being lined up to takeover from The Grande Dame?

Could it be that his public promise to HMRC staff the other day, about what will happen to staff survey results, was a sign of a power shift?

Could it be that the Grande Dame's protracted sick leave will be used as a diversion to quietly shuffle her off with a massive payoff?

What do you, my loyal readers, think/know is going on behind the scenes?

Tax does have to be taxing.

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HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

Quote ID code "ABC" when contacting a QROPS specialist.

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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"

Whither Kenny? III

Loyal readers will doubtless recall the "resignation" (or was it really sacking?) of Bernadette Kenny (Director General of Personal Tax) that was featured on this site in early November.

Well now, it seems that this story hasn't quite ended yet.

The FT reports that, "oddly enough", Kenny will not be leaving her post empty handed (even though she allegedly "resigned" of her own free will).

Kenny will, as from February 2011, start to draw down her HMRC £50K per annum pension (six years earlier than she would have normally been entitled to - worth an extra £300K to her).

My goodness, what a generous and decent employer HMRC is...if, that is, you are in the upper echelons of HMRC and know where the bodies are buried!

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"

Failing Memory?

The House of Commons Treasury Sub-committee put the boot into HMRC last week, over the £88K payoff to Stuart Cruickshank (the ex CFO of HMRC).

The sum is believed to include costs for Cruickshank's legal advice and "outplacement counselling".

Cruickshank took the role in December 2006, and left in March 2008.

At the time of the announcement about his departure HMRC were reluctant to talk about how much his severance pay would be.

Now that it is out in the open, MP's are puzzled.

George Mudie MP said:

"If we are paying somebody £88K to break their contract ... they should be paying us."

Dave Hartnett told the committee that Cruickshank had not necessarily wanted to go "at that time".

How odd that, at the time, HMRC told The Times:

"Stuart Cruickshank, the Revenue claims, was on a 'standard Civil Service fixed-term appointment contract' and was always expected to leave".

Hartnett appears to have forgotten this.

Anyhoo, he has agreed to provide further details of the payout.

But added:

"We needed a chief finance officer committed to HMRC."

Odd to imply Cruickshank wasn't committed, given the article in The Gasette Autumn 2007 that I referred to in January 2008:

"The really odd thing is that reading page 12 of The Gasette (The magazine for government finance professionals) Autumn 2007, I get the distinct impression that Cruickshank, and indeed The Gasette, thought that he would be around for longer than a year".

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Shades of Nelson

Dave "Nearly Man" Hartnett evoked memories of Nelson's "I see no ships" during a recent "guest" appearance at a discussion in the House of Commons.

Despite the fact that nearly 15,000 staff have resigned from HMRC since the merger in 2005 (3,000 ahead of HMRC's target), Hartnett (now permanent secretary for tax at HMRC) said he was not aware of any forced redundancies.

"There have been no compulsory redundancies that I'm aware of in the last few years."

There are of course many ways to make someone resign, as Hartnett knows, without having to fire them.

Ironically, despite this mass exodus, HMRC's operating costs are up by £192M.

Jim Cousins MP, like many others, is somewhat baffled by this contradiction.

Hartnett, whne questioned about it, said that there were "any number of reasons" (ie he didn't know) for the cost problems "to do with the running costs of IT systems and child benefits".

Hartnett may well have evoked memories of Nelson, but he and the other two on the "committee of three" who claim to now be in charge of HMRC are most certainly not modern day versions of Nelson.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Rewarding Failure - The Gray Scale

As is reasonably well known, the civil service has a grading structure which determines salary, pension, perks, etc etc.

However, as with all government orifices there are nuances etc that may not be so well known. Doubtless you will all recall the datagate fiasco of last year, where HMRC lost the data records of 25 million people and put their personal security at risk.

At that time Paul Gray, CEO of HMRC, was chosen to fall on his sword for this fark up and leave HMRC. Not that many tears were shed for him at the time, because he happily slipped into a new role in another part of the civil service (heaven forfend any senior member of the civil service should ever lose their job over something that they were responsible for!).

Within weeks, he had moved into the Cabinet Orifice where he led a project on 'developing civil servant skills' before his contract finally expired in December.

However, what was not revealed at the time was how much he was paid off for leaving HMRC. The payoff has now finally come to light.

How much do you think he got for leaving HMRC, after taking some of the responsibility for losing 25 million data sets?

Maestro, cue a role on the drums please!

Paul Gray received a payoff of........£400,000.

His salary when he was in HMRC was £200K per annum, so that means he got a two year pay off.

By the way, he has now also managed to negotiate a retirement package that will be officially revealed in the HMRC's annual report next month.

This particular civil service grade and pay scale shall henceforth be known as "The Gray Scale", applicable to all senior civil servants those who fail in their jobs.

HMRC: rewarding failure, punishing enterprise!

Tax does have to be taxing.

The New Statesman, Britain's leading political magazine is delighted to announce that HMRC Is Shite has been nominated for a New Media Award in the category of Campaign For Change. The campaign for change award will go to the individual or organisation that has most effectively influenced opinions and behaviour through the use of new media technology. The winner of this award will champion a cause and provide information and tools to instigate change.

The full press release can be downloaded here.

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Brain Drain

As HMRC continues apace with it restructuring, I am reliably informed that many experienced staff have gone or are going.

One experienced and professional inspector (with 20 year's under his belt) was so pissed off that he resigned last summer, and went on to the private sector to work for himself.

As is the nature of things, it didn't work out as well as he had hoped and he rang HMRC Human Resources to see if he could rejoin.

He was told to apply for another job in a contact centre!

The words "baby", "throwing out" and "bathwater" spring to mind.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Situations Vacant

I recently asked why it is that Dave Hartnett was still only "acting" head of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Now I know why.

HMRC, in the face of plummeting morale, are changing their complex and incomprehensible management structure to try to bring in some elements of corporate governance and efficiency from the real world.

As such, they are splitting the old role of Chairman, between a new full time position of Chief Executive and part time non executive position of Chairman.

I would ask as to why didn't they have this structure in place before?

Anyhoo, HMRC has scanned to "talent" pool within its organisation and found that it is sadly deficient; therefore the posts are being advertised in the real world.

Perversely, the vacancies are not advertised on the HMRC site, or on the Civil Service site.

Can anyone tell me when they will advertise for the position of Finance Director, which is soon to be vacated by Stuart Cruickshank?

It all seems rather muddled and vague.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Porkies

It would seem that the questions over Stuart Cruickshank's sudden departure from HMRC (after only one year) won't die down.

The HMRC told The Times that:

"Stuart Cruickshank, the Revenue claims, was on a 'standard Civil Service fixed-term appointment contract' and was always expected to leave".

It would seem that someone was telling porkies, or at least allowing the impression to be given that the fixed term was only one year.

The truth is somewhat different, Cruickshank was on a 3 year contract, commencing on 18 December 2006.

Don't believe me?

Take a look at HMRC 2006–07 Accounts (page 21).

The accounts go on to say he and another Director General "have standard notice periods of three months from the employee and five weeks from the employer."

He quit after only one year.

Why?

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Taking The Piss

Now here's an interesting story, in polite circles one might say that the HMRC is having a laugh...in less polite circles, one would conjecture that they are taking the piss.

Given all that has happened over the past few months; wrt:

- lost data,
- resignations,
- strike ballots,
- botched reorganisations,
- lack of a CFO
- massive headcount cuts etc

a reasonable person might expect the HMRC to be focusing on rebuilding its shattered reputation, and improving its performance.

Well, as said, that's what a reasonable person might expect.

However, HMRC are taking a different view. They have proudly announced that they are advising African governments on how revenue bodies should develop an "effective relationship with major taxpayers and their advisers".

HMRC state that they will be advising their African counterparts to base their activities around, "commercial understanding, impartiality, proportionality, openness and responsiveness."

I can't disagree with that advice.

The question is, do the HMRC actually follow this advice though?

Some would argue that they don't.

A spokesman for the Professional Contractors Group's is quoted in the media:

"HMRC giving advice on impartiality and commercial understanding is a bit like Jade Goody opening a charm school."

As noted, shouldn't HMRC to be focusing on rebuilding its shattered reputation and improving its performance; rather than involving itself with Africa?

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The Sweet Smell of Bullshit

I am not alone in thinking that the sudden and "hush hush" (hush hush until it leaked) departure of Stuart Cruickshank (CFO of HMRC) stinks.

Martin Waller of The Times does not think the HMRC version of events holds any water at all.

"...HMRC's version of events is increasingly leaking water. Stuart Cruickshank, the Revenue claims, was on a 'standard Civil Service fixed-term appointment contract' and was always expected to leave. After 15 months? An odd fixed term....

HMRC is sticking to its fiction in the light off the above, but it simply doesn't hold up."

-Why has Cruickshank gone after such a short period in office?

-Has he been paid off?

Would someone on the inside of HMRC care to drop me a line with the real story here please?

I guarantee your anonymity.

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Data Protection

How reassuring to learn that, following on from last year's Datagate Debacle, HMRC has finally learned to be careful with individuals' personal data (or at least one individual's personal data, at any rate).

Martin Waller of The Times made some enquiries yesterday about the rather sudden, and hush hush, departure of Stuart Cruickshank (HMRC Finance Director) after only a year in the job.

When asked by Martin as to whether Cruickshank would be receiving a payoff (funded naturally by the hapless taxpayer), he was told by our ever open friends in HMRC:

"We cannot comment on the individual terms of any specific contract."

Well, as said, it is nice to see that HMRC is finally learning how to protect an individual's personal data. It is a pity though that they have forgotten the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and the fact that they work for us.

Here's an idea, why don't we all write to HMRC asking them to provide details of Cruickshank's payoff, and remind them of the FOIA?

I would like to provide an email link with their email address. Unfortunately, for reasons best known to themselves, HMRC do not want you to send them emails.

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Resignation II

Further to my earlier article today about the resignation (or "planned departure") of Stuart Cruickshank (CFO of HMRC), I am advised by one of my chums that the intranet announcement that went around HMRC yesterday quoted the acting chairman of HMRC saying that the process of finding a successor will start "shortly".

Errmmm...shouldn't they have started this a little bit earlier, especially if they knew that the guy was only on a one year contract?

It sounds to me as though neither HMRC, nor Cruickshank, knew that he was going to be leaving quite so quickly.

What a mess!

Where do I apply?

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