The Problem With Surveys

My thanks to a loyal "anonymous" reader (LAR), who draws my attention to the fact that the "leaders" of HMRC do not seem to want their staff to discuss the fact that HMRC came 103rd in the Civil Service People Survey 2010.

"But wouldn't it be awful if HMRC staff were banned from discussing this development?

Surely CaM, the internal comms people in HMRC wouldn't lock a thread on the staff forum boards soon after these results were known thereby denying HMRC's own people the chance to enter into some adult and honest debate?

No, that would surely never happen in an organisation that wanted to raise staff engagement..."

As LAR says, how can an organisation that claims that it wants to improve staff engagement stop staff from engaging on this issue without being labelled hypocritical?

Fortunately, HMRC staff et al are more than welcome to engage with each other on this site.

Maybe I will receive an award from ExComm for promoting staff engagement?;)

Tax does have to be taxing.

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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.

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Bottom

My thanks to the anonymous reader yesterday, who cryptically pointed me in the direction of the Civil Service People Survey 2010.

HMRC's specific results have already been covered on this site. However, the overall rankings (department by department) have now been published.

Out of 103 Civil Service departments which took part, HMRC came last with an engagement index score of 34 against a median of 56.

Comments from Dame Lesley Strathie are very welcome!

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
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"

Plain Speaking

The Low Income Tax Reform Group (LITRG) has called for there to be a simplification of the language used in HMRC's forms and communications.

LITRG notes that HMRC have carried out numerous research projects to assess the needs of their customers. However, LITRG note that turning the feedback into reality has not happened.

They note that last October President Obama signed the Plain Writing Act 2010, which requires the US federal government to write all new publications, forms, and publicly distributed documents in a "clear, concise, well-organised" manner.

LITRG believe that were a similar act to be enacted in the UK, it would save LITRG countless hours of commenting upon badly drafted Government forms, leaflets and general guidance.

It would also give "the unrepresented taxpayer a fighting chance of helping themselves when trying to cope with HMRC obligations. It would certainly reduce error to a considerable degree".

Please feel free to post your examples of "confusing language" that you have encountered in HMRC communications.

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

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

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"

HMRC's Emissions

Congratulations to HMRC for winning the Best Large Public Sector Fleet title for the second year running, and the Business Mileage Management award for the first time. It was also runner up in the Leadership – Public Sector category!

The Awards are organised by the Energy Saving Trust, and supported by the Guardian and the CBI.

Pete Gleeson, Category Lead Travel and Transport at HMRC, told Public Sector Travel:

"I am delighted to receive these awards on behalf of HMRC, which recognise the work of our fleet team and pays tribute to the efforts made across HMRC.

We will now be turning our attention to what more can be done to reduce fleet/emissions further in 2011."

As noted, HMRC also won this last year and what I said then probably still applies:

"I assume that this hasn't been achieved by managers ditching cars and flying instead?

It would be interesting to see if flying miles during the last year have increased/reduced or remained static."

I refer to two comments made by readers at the time:

"Talk of saving CO2 is a nonsense.

Now that officers have to travel into the office first to pick up the pool car for their visits, it means that actual journey times and mileages and CO2 are greatly increased - but then again, the first leg of the journey doesn't count in the stats and HMRC and Gordon Brown's crazy world of Off Balance Sheet Financing."

"I wouldn't believe a word they said.

Since a mangers team could include staff in Belfast, Edinburgh or somewhere in England these people are never out of airports and jumping in taxis.

HMRC are a fucking laugh spouting off all this positive info. When you asked for some clarification on the departments restructuring or simply the future, it was like talking to a pack of dummies.

Plus should the overall costs not be down anyway considering that thousands of disillusioned staff have fucked off out of the place over the last few years?

A den of iniquity."

Comments on the reality of these energy/emissions savings welcome!

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

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

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"

Carry On Regardless

HMRC has decided to carry on with its plans to force companies to file tax returns online using iXBRL, despite the fact that the professional accounting bodies have called for a delay.

In a letter to Treasury, David Gauke, the institutes (CIoT, ACCA, ICAS, ATT, ICAEW and the AAT) have asked for a delay as they fear that the new technology is not ready.

Sage have stated that its accounts production programs will not be ready in time.

However, HMRC insist that as from 1 April 2011 iXBRL must be used.

ICAS red flagged this issue in June 2009. However, I am surprised that it has taken the institutes so long to get their act together to write a joint letter about the problem only now (given that implementation is now only 2 months away).

Notwithstanding HMRC's stance, rumour has it that the Treasury will make a decision today as to whether this will really go ahaead.

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

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

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"

Putting The Boot In

The Commons Public Accounts Committee has given HMRC a thorough kicking wrt the PAYE reconciliation issues of 2008/09, 2007/08 and earlier years.

Accountancy Age reports that the committee Chairman, Margaret Hodge, said that HMRC "failed in its duty to process PAYE accurately and on time" and deliberately left taxpayers in the dark until last September because of problems with its NI and PAYE Service (NPS) computer system.

Hodge said:

"HMRC's mismanagement has caused uncertainty and worry to taxpayers and inequity in the system. We now look to the department to be able to demonstrate clearly by the end of 2011 that NPS can process PAYE promptly, accurately and efficiently. Taxpayer confidence must be restored."

The committee noted that the implementation of NPS was "flawed", and that there are "data quality issues" that had disrupted the issue of tax codes for 2010/11.

Seemingly HMRC began issuing 25 million coding notices for 2010/11, without first establishing why the number was massively in excess of its forecast.

As I have noted before, the root cause of HMRC's problems stems from the botched merger (ordered by Brown), the interference of politicians, the complexity of the tax system (legislated by politicians) and the ineptitude of senior managers (appointed by politicians).

The committee is right to draw attention to the problems, and is right to blame HMRC for specific issues. However, the underlying cause of HMRC's problems (and ultimately their resolution) lies in the hands of the politicians.

That of course means the problems will never be solved, as our political establishment simply isn't up to the job.

Tax does have to be taxing.

UK EXPATS: Reduce tax on UK Pensions
HMRC QROPS provider. Unlock your UK pension and access a 25% lump sum today.

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

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"