HMRC Bans Sellotape

You couldn't make this up!

Source Citywire:

"I nearly fell of my chair with laughter last week when I was asked by Alliance Trust to have some forms CA1550 and CA 1544 re-signed because they were not double sided and they were saying HMRC would not accept them on single sheets!

Checking the date and realising it was not All Fools Day I rang the Revenue thinking that Alliance Trust had got something wrong, only to be told: 'the machines we have cannot recognise a single sheet and, yes, we prefer these forms to be double sided, and the way to overcome this is not to use Sellotape or staples but to go and buy some Scotch Magic tape and stick the two sheets together and then that will be fine'!

'Oh by the way if you were to use Sellotape it will melt from the heat of the scanner and could jam the machine!'

Whilst I want to be as green as I can and use less paper if at all possible at this moment the laser printer we have is fairly new and does not do duplex printing. Yes, I could spend several minutes faffing around and printing one page at a time but do not have the time to do this as it is not cost effective.

I wonder how many thousands of pounds HMRC spent on the state-of-the-art scanner that cannot recognise a single sided document!

I have studied both forms and cannot see anywhere in the instructions that these forms must be double sided. I wonder which page of the pension legislation does it say it has to be! Needless to say I have asked for the forms to be returned and I will get a roll of Scotch Magic Tape to make them double sided.

I hope you find this as amusing as I did, though at first I was not amused as you might expect!

If you want to check it out speak with the Revenue help line on 0845 9150150

I wonder if any other advisers have encountered this problem - or any other examples of ridiculous bureaucratic requirements from government departments or providers?

Andrew Warwick is partner at Absolute Financial Services LLP in Solihull."

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"

Security Matters? - II

Stephen Timms, the financial secretary to the Treasury, has told the Commons that there have been 11,266 security breaches at HMRC since it was formed in 2005.

The breaches, according to Timms, cover "a wide range" including; unlocked cupboards, losses, theft, suspicious behaviour and vandalism.

I guess this one was on the list as well?

"Did you hear the one about the lady who attended a Data Security Workshop held at an HMRC building?

Apparently sitting through both the morning afternoon sessions, and enjoying the departmental coffee and sandwiches, she obviously found it all to be a worthwhile exercise.

The fact that she was actually a member of the public, who had mistakenly wandered in to the building, only came to light when the facilitator asked everyone present to hold up their Data Security booklet, and of course the lady had to admit that she hadn't actually been given one.

You couldn't make it up."

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"

On Target

A tax professional rang HMRC the other day, on behalf of a client whose PAYE tax code has been wrong for a number of years.

The Service Team advised her that she "has a long wait" ahead of her to get the situation corrected.

How long?

Unclear, as this particular HMRC office are currently dealing with post from August 23rd 2008.

Seemingly, according to the Service Team, this is "on target".

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"

Tax Avoidance

I am not alone in stating that using ISAS and personal allowances etc constitutes tax avoidance.

Thisismoney.co.uk state the very same thing, as per their article "Savings and Investments How to Avoid Tax".

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"

Debt Collection II

HMRC, in the face of mounting opposition from the unions, business and finance professionals to their plans to outsource debt collection have told Accountancy Age:

"We will only proceed with a pilot once we are satisfied that the benefits outweigh the risks."

Two points that people need to bear in mind:

1 Benefits to whom? HMRC or the taxpayers?

2 The risks include the loss of taxpayers' personal data handed over to private firms.


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 Question To HMRC

In HMRC's draft charter, the following phrase is used:

"Pursue relentlessly those that break or bend the rules".

What precisely constitutes, in HMRC's eyes, "bending the rules"?

"Bending" could easily be interpreted as "tax planning".

Does this mean that tax avoidance, which is perfectly legal, is now being made illegal via the backdoor (the charter will have the force of law behind it)?

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"