Rewarding Failure - The Gray Scale II

As HMRC continues to butcher its headcount, in the drive to "improve" efficiency and reduce costs, it must be heartening to those who have been/are about to be fired to know that Paul Gray, the ex Chairman of HMRC who was responsible for losing 25 million data records, has found a new job.

BTW, Gray left HMRC with a £2.3M pension and a payoff of £400K.

Anyhoo he is now working for Praesta, helping their executives "develop their potential".

Now, as we know, Gray was initially farmed out to the Cabinet Orifice (senior members of HMRC are never left out in the cold, that simply wouldn't be very nice would it?).

Having left the Cabinet Orifice, he seemingly was still needing to earn a few pennies to keep the wolves from the door.

Luckily Praesta offered him a job.

Oh, one thing that I should mention, Praesta has £650K worth of contracts with the Government.

It warms the cockles of my heart to see HMRC and the government look after its ex employees so well. I assume that the 25,000 staff who have been/will be fired will also be treated as well?

HMRC: rewarding failure, punishing enterprise!

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"

Unprotected

Those running HMRC claim that HMRC is a professional organisation, that treats its staff and "customers" (that's the taxpayers to you and I) professionally.

I'm all for that!

The trouble is that the many communications I have had from members of staff and taxpayers, and many stories in the media, would indicate otherwise.

Therefore I am more than a "little concerned" to see that HMRC inspectors will be soon acquiring new new powers to investigate and fine taxpayers, without any safeguards for individuals or businesses.

How can this be?

How can powers be granted, without corresponding checks and balances normally associated with a professional organisation?

Simple, there will be safeguards but not for at least four months after the powers have been granted.

HMRC will acquire powers in 2009 to enter business premises and private homes used for business. For errors that are "careless, but non-deliberate", penalties of up to 30% of an unpaid tax bill can be levied. Fines worth 70% of the final tax bill could be imposed, should officials believe the taxpayer deliberately ignored the need to make a payment. Deliberate concealment could trigger fines worth 100% of the final tax bill.

These new powers will come into effect on April 1 2009.

Tax officers will gain powers to inspect and remove information and documents, while the Treasury will limit the amount taxpayers can reclaim in wrongly paid tax from six to four years. Income tax, capital gains tax, VAT and stamp duty tax will be among payments covered by the new regime. Fines can be imposed from March 2009 on tax bills calculated from March 2008.

The charter to protect taxpayers from "over-zealous" inspectors is not even due to complete its consultation phase until at least July 2009.

Publication and distribution of the charter is unlikely until late 2009 or 2010.

This is not just barmy, it's like putting the fox in charge of the hen house. Others would seem to agree.

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants wants the new powers delayed until 2010, when the charter is sent to all taxpayers.

Roy Maugham, a partner at accountants UHY Hacker Young, said:

"These are hugely draconian proposals that would allow the Treasury to unjustly enrich itself at the expense of individual taxpayers.

The banks have been criticised for their unfair charges, but if the banks shouldn't operate in this way, why should HMRC?

Permitting HMRC to issue daily fines without authorisation from the general or special commissioners would remove a vital legal protection for taxpayers against the arbitrary use of power.

Regardless of whether taxpayers could appeal, the balance is shifted firmly in HMRC's favour, and would inevitably result in greater use of daily fines."

Unfortunately this is entirely in keeping with the Brown ethos of command and control, he despises the individual (both taxpayer and those who work for HMRC) and believes that the state is supreme.

The government and those running HMRC cannot be trusted, as taxpayers and staff can readily attest to.

You should not be fucked without the protection of a condom (the charter is the taxpayers' condom)!

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"

Taking The Piss II

Yesterday's article about HMRC "management" issuing an edict to their hapless staff instructing them to drink less, so that they would not have to visit the toilet so often, brought forward a number of interesting comments.

One in particular sums up the "quality" of HMRC "management", and spells doom for this organ of the state.

In accordance with the edict on drinking less, and reducing toilet breaks, HMRC "management" have introduced a new quality control procedure.

Can you guess what this is?

Yes, that's right, staff have to fill in a spreadsheet whenever they go to the toilet.

It is clear that this organisation will fall apart in less than year, as no adult in their right mind could/would/should accept being treated like a four year old and bullied in this manner.

To my view the only clear course of action for the staff is to go public with every single absurd "management" instruction they receive, and name and shame all "managers" who bully/harass them.

This failed organisation needs to be torn down and rebuilt.

In its present form it remains a monument to browns' arrogance and incompetence.

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"

Taking The Piss

My congratulations to the senior management of HMRC who are proving to the world that they really understand how to "manage" and "motivate" their hapless staff.

You will doubtless be aware that HMRC are currently undergoing something of a "restructuring" exercise at the moment, 15,000 jobs gone and a further 10,000 to go by 2011, as such there are expectations of efficiency and performance improvements.

One would therefore expect that senior management, and the massively overpaid consultants that doubtless have been "guiding" them, would have some splendid efficiency improvement suggestions up their sleeves.

Errmmm...maybe not.....

I am reliably informed that an edict has been issued by "management" (just because you wear a suit and tie, and are paid a lot more than those at the coal face, does not necessarily make you a manager) to staff telling them to reduce the number of toilet breaks they take by drinking less.

I kid you not!

Why are these people allowed to be in charge of other human beings?

I doubt that any of the current management in situ at HMRC could sit the right way on a lavatory.

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"

A Very Bad Step

Much is made by those "in charge" of HMRC, and by Brown and his henchmen, of the restructuring and rationalisation of this mighty organ of the state.

However, those that actually work for it, interact with it and various MP's are not so impressed with the handling of "Smiler" Brown's conglomeration and reorganisation of Customs and Revenue.

Grantham Quentin Davies MP has expressed his disappointment at the response that he has received from the Government to his protests against the closure of Grantham's tax office.

HMRC staff from the office in Castlegate have been told that they will be relocated to Lincoln, or offered jobs in other offices as part of a restructure of the organisation.

The move will begin in Spring next year.

Treasury minister, Jane Kennedy, confirmed to Mr Davies that the plans will go ahead and assured him that the changes would have minimal effect on taxpayers.

As I have said before, many people prefer being able to talk to a friendly helpful member of HMRC face to face; rather then entangle themselves in the morass of the pig's breakfast of the HMRC website, or hang on the phone for hours as they attempt to access an expert at the HMRC call centre.

Mr Davies agrees:

"By far the worst aspect of the plans to close the Grantham tax office would be that taxpayers, individuals and businesses would have to travel to Lincoln to consult with HMRC. 11,000 callers were received in Grantham in 2006-07 and this service must continue.

The chances of honest mistakes in accounting for tax are greatly increased if there is no opportunity for face-to-face meetings between the taxpayer and the Revenue of Customs and Excise.

This would be a very bad step in the interests of both sides."

I agree, much like the banks that have shut local branches and fired branch managers (as they don't give a stuff about their customers), this is a retrograde step that is not in the interests of the taxpayer.

Government, especially "Smiler" Brown's administration, does not give a fark about the taxpayer (aside from viewing us as a hapless cow to be milked dry for every penny we have).

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"

From Bad To Worse - The Sweet Smell of Bullshit

Congratulations to those running HMRC, for proving that they can make a bad situation worse!

It seems that security breaches at HMRC have risen dramatically since the data discs fiasco.

How the fark can that be?

HMRC and its political masters had promised to improve security, after last year's spectacular loss of 25 child benefit records. However, as we all know, the promises of politicians and bureaucrats are worse than worthless.

HMRC have clocked up a stunning ten security breaches a day since October last year, compared to eight per day the previous year.

The losses include physical theft of computers containing information about members of the public, and mobile phones with private numbers stored in them.

Since October 2007 there have been 1,993 incidents. On the assumption that this "stellar" performance continues, there will be more than 2,700 breaches by this October.

That's an increase of 28%!

Well done lads!

Those of you who are a tad worried about this need have no fear, Treasury Minister Jane Kennedy has an excuse:

"This high level of reporting reflects the increased awareness of staff following the child benefit data loss in October 2007."

Read that again, just to make sure that you fully understand what this daft woman just said.

She is implying that before the theft, HMRC staff hadn't got the wit/brains or practical knowledge to be able to recognise when something (eg a pc or mobile phone) had been stolen; or if they did recognise that something had been stolen, they hadn't the wit/brains or common sense to report the theft.

If it looks like bullshit and smells like bullshit, then the chances are it is bullshit!

I would like to hear what the members of staff of HMRC think about her "excuse", and the real reason that security breaches have increased.

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"