Money Well Spent

HMRC is doing its level best to reduce its cost base, and save us money.

The post-room at Fountain Court (the HMRC office in Middlesbrough) is being closed down, consequently letters issued by staff are not being picked up by the Royal Mail.

Therefore all letters issued from Fountain Court are now sent to Benton Park View (the Wearside HMRC office) to be placed in envelopes and issued from there.

In other words, a letter written in Middlesbrough is driven 40 miles by courier to be put in an envelope and posted.

Great!

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 State of Denial

The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group recently stated:

"The Government are now eager to improve the tax credits system. Yet HMRC are in denial about the extent of the delays in dealing with overpayment disputes and appeals.

One welfare rights adviser sent nine overpayment disputes, one appeal and one backdating request to HMRC between February and June 2008. As of the start of last week, only two had been acknowledged as received, and only one had elicited any substantive reply."

Read more on the LITRG site.

Denial does not help anyone.

Maybe someone could organise an "intervention"?

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"

Envelope Ban

HMRC is pushing ahead with its plan to force taxpayers to file VAT returns online.

Its latest tactic is to phase out pre-paid envelopes which it used to supply.

Malcolm Winston (UHY Hacker Young partner) is not impressed, he is quoted in the Birmingham Post:

"This is unfortunate timing as HMRC's recent data loss scandal is still fresh in everyone's mind. You would think that they would be a bit more sensitive to taxpayers' concerns before they tried to railroad them all into filing online.

There are still quite a few personal and business taxpayers who either don't have access to broadband or who are still very nervous about lodging sensitive financial information online."

HMRC claim that the phasing out of pre-paid envelopes is in line with the private sector.

However, that is not a fair analogy, as people have a choice as to which private sector organisation they use.

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 of Security - Don't Employ Illegals

Security is an important issue for HMRC, given the fact that HMRC holds personal data on every tax payer in Britain it is vital that the data is held securely.

Therefore it is disappointing to learn that seven immigrants lied their way into security jobs at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) with forged documents last year.

They worked for a contractor that guarded customs buildings before they were identified in December.

Since then one of the workers has been arrested, five have resigned and the other is on maternity leave while her immigration status is investigated.

This information belatedly came to light after a Freedom of Information request.

HMRC said the latest revelations had been exposed after a routine check on paperwork found "irregularities".

Shouldn't the paperwork be checked before employing people?

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"

Surely Not?

Is this for real?

"I have heard that in HMRC offices which do not have lockable storage for files/papers staff have been instructed to turn papers and files face down at the end of each working day "so as to keep them secure"... I kid you not!!!"

Source

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"

The Electric Commode

You will recall that I recently wrote about HMRC "management" imposing a rule whereby HMRC staff have to complete a spreadsheet every time that they go for a loo break, and advising staff not to drink so much.

One reader even commented that he/she had been threatened with a written warning over loo breaks.

Clearly there are issues within HMRC wrt toilets and lavatorial issues (anally retentive issues I would surmise), Freud doubtless would have had a field day.

Anyhoo, in the interests of improving morale and efficiency, I have designed a most excellent chair for staff to use when they are at their desks which would negate the need for them to go to the loo.

Ladies and gentlemen may I present "The Electric Commode".

I think you will agree it's a real winner, and the efficiency improvements will more than outweigh the capital costs.

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"