The Post Office's £100M Tax Bill and Insolvency - #PostOfficeScandal

We've a new report: the Post Office claimed £934m tax relief for its compensation payments to the postmasters it persecuted. That's outrageous. It's also unlawful - so the Post Office now faces an unexpected £100m tax bill. It may be insolvent. pic.twitter.com/aaeCrRq0iV

— Dan Neidle (@DanNeidle) January 12, 2024

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Appeal! Appeal! Appeal!

 

The value of HMRC tax penalties surged by 25 per cent between 2022 and 2023 to its the highest level on record, new data shows, as the government faces criticism for unfairly fining struggling businesses.

HMRC imposed £851m in penalties between November 2022 and October 2023, up from £681m in 2021/22, according to data obtained by accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young through a freedom of information request.

Penalties were also extended to nil or repayment returns that are received late, which Hacker Young said made it easier to trigger fines through simple paperwork errors.

Sean Glancy, a partner at Hacker Young, is quoted by City AM: 

“HMRC is often not reasonable in removing penalties for genuine errors – they sometimes seem to operate with a ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ approach. Once a penalty is issued, the process is quite draconian, however about half of penalties are withdrawn on appeal.”

Given the Post Office scandal, it is all too evident that people can neither trust automated systems nor state run bodies. As such, if on the receiving end of a penalty that you feel is not justified:

Appeal! Appeal! Appeal!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Tax Investigation Insurance

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Having a Solar Protect Tax Investigation Insurance policy at your disposal means that should you be one of the many 1000's of businesses or individuals that are selected by HMRC each year to look into your tax affairs your own accountant (your tax return agent) can get on and defend you robustly.

You have the peace of mind knowing that your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees will be paid by the insurance without any Excess for you to find.

Tax Investigation Insurance is an insurance policy that will fully reimburse your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees up to £100,000 if you are subject to enquiry by or dispute with HMRC.

A Solar Protect policy will enable your accountant (your tax return agent) to:

• Deal with any correspondence from HMRC
• Attend any meeting with HMRC
• Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal
• Having the security of knowing that fees will be met in full will enable your Accountant (your tax return agent) to defend your position robustly

Please click here for details.

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 Phoneline Chaos

 

As the deadline for submitting tax returns hurtles towards us, good luck to those attempting to contact HMRC by phone; as it is utter chaos (as usual!).

The Mail reports that eg during one call, the customer service operator said he was working from home. He told me: 

“I’m upstairs, but will pass you down to my wife who is in the dining room and who works on tax codes.”

Another call was put on hold, the terminated, as the HMRC employee had to attend to her crying baby.

This chaos is down to several factors including, but not limited to, the following:

-staff are working from home

-experienced staff have left, and those manning the phones are of lower grades

-the IT systems, that are meant to reduce the need for calls are not up to scratch (am I right in thinking Fujitsu still have their tentacles in some of these systems?) etc.

HMRC  will no doubt be forced to extend the deadline this year, as it is clear they are not up to the job of helping people resolve their tax queries on time!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Having a Solar Protect Tax Investigation Insurance policy at your disposal means that should you be one of the many 1000's of businesses or individuals that are selected by HMRC each year to look into your tax affairs your own accountant (your tax return agent) can get on and defend you robustly.

You have the peace of mind knowing that your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees will be paid by the insurance without any Excess for you to find.

Tax Investigation Insurance is an insurance policy that will fully reimburse your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees up to £100,000 if you are subject to enquiry by or dispute with HMRC.

A Solar Protect policy will enable your accountant (your tax return agent) to:

• Deal with any correspondence from HMRC
• Attend any meeting with HMRC
• Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal
• Having the security of knowing that fees will be met in full will enable your Accountant (your tax return agent) to defend your position robustly

Please click here for details.

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"

Fujitsu and HMRC - #PostOfficeScandal

 

Given that Fujitsu is currently in the news again, courtesy of its role in the Horizon Post Office scandal, it is worth remembering that it also has a long term relationship with HMRC. 

Here is a link to a few articles I wrote over the years mentioning that relationship.

In fact Fujitsu seems to have its tentacles in many taxpayer funded pies, as per Computer Weekly:

"Despite its involvement in the scandal, the Japanese IT giant has continued to be awarded lucrative contracts by the UK government. Last year, it was awarded IT services contracts by the Home Office, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). It will be paid £250m by HMRC to replace an in-house service, while the FCDO has contracted it to provide networking and communications services in a deal worth £184m, and the Home Office is paying Fujitsu £48m to support the technology underpinning the Police National Database."

Those of you who work within HMRC are more than welcome to share your insights/thoughts/experiences about this.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Tax Investigation Insurance

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Having a Solar Protect Tax Investigation Insurance policy at your disposal means that should you be one of the many 1000's of businesses or individuals that are selected by HMRC each year to look into your tax affairs your own accountant (your tax return agent) can get on and defend you robustly.

You have the peace of mind knowing that your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees will be paid by the insurance without any Excess for you to find.

Tax Investigation Insurance is an insurance policy that will fully reimburse your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees up to £100,000 if you are subject to enquiry by or dispute with HMRC.

A Solar Protect policy will enable your accountant (your tax return agent) to:

• Deal with any correspondence from HMRC
• Attend any meeting with HMRC
• Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal
• Having the security of knowing that fees will be met in full will enable your Accountant (your tax return agent) to defend your position robustly

Please click here for details.

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"

Sky News Talking Utter BOLLOCKS - There Is No New Tax!

A "side hustle tax" has come into force - targeting Britons who sell second-hand goods online or let out their spare rooms

🔗 Read more https://t.co/VxhP1MlP11

— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 2, 2024

Tax does have to be taxing.

Tax Investigation Insurance

Market leading tax fee protection insurance for businesses, sole traders and individuals. Protect yourself from accountancy fees in the event of an HMRC enquiry.

Having a Solar Protect Tax Investigation Insurance policy at your disposal means that should you be one of the many 1000's of businesses or individuals that are selected by HMRC each year to look into your tax affairs your own accountant (your tax return agent) can get on and defend you robustly.

You have the peace of mind knowing that your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees will be paid by the insurance without any Excess for you to find.

Tax Investigation Insurance is an insurance policy that will fully reimburse your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees up to £100,000 if you are subject to enquiry by or dispute with HMRC.

A Solar Protect policy will enable your accountant (your tax return agent) to:

• Deal with any correspondence from HMRC
• Attend any meeting with HMRC
• Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal
• Having the security of knowing that fees will be met in full will enable your Accountant (your tax return agent) to defend your position robustly

Please click here for details.

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 Chases Low Hanging £89 Debts

Well, folks, it seems the halls of HMRC are filled with more than just festive cheer this year. No, nestled amongst the spreadsheets and tax codes sits a Grinch disguised as a bean counter – the esteemed Jim Harra, Chief Executive of the taxman himself. 

Recent news has revealed Jim's jolly penchant for chasing taxpayers down for debts as measly as a tenner short of a hundred quid. That's right, folks, if your granny forgot to declare a pack of Werther's Originals on her biscuit tax, Jim's hounds will be baying for your blood (or at least your loose change).

Now, I'm not saying everyone deserves a free pass for a cheeky tenner here or there. 

But seriously, Jim? 

Chasing down folks for less than the price of a decent Christmas pie? 

It's Scrooge-like, bordering on downright miserly. You'd think a man in charge of collecting the nation's dosh would have a bit more perspective. It's not like these folks are dodging Lamborghinis and caviar, are they? They're probably struggling to afford the sprouts this year, let alone a tax debt the size of a gnat's sneeze.

But Jim, in his infinite bean-counting wisdom, claims it's all about "risk-based debt management." Apparently, even a tenner-sized debt can snowball into a mountain of paperwork and wasted resources. Right. Because sending letters and making calls for an eighty-nine quid debt is definitely the best use of HMRC's time and money.

Here's the thing, Jim. When you chase people down for piddling sums, it doesn't make you look efficient, it makes you look petty. It sends a message that you're more interested in squeezing every last penny out of folks than actually making the tax system fair and manageable. And that, my friends, is a recipe for resentment.

So, Jim, if you're reading this, take a tip from an old hand. Lighten up a bit. Show some Christmas spirit. Let the ten-pound debts slide and focus on the real tax dodgers – the ones with offshore accounts and fancy lawyers. That way, you might actually earn some goodwill and maybe, just maybe, make the taxman a bit less Grinch-like in the eyes of the public.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with a mince pie and a healthy dose of cynicism about the state of our fiscal affairs. Merry Christmas, everyone. And remember, if Old Man Harra comes calling for your fiver, tell him Ken sent you.

Yours in fiscal disbelief,

Ken

Tax does have to be taxing.

Tax Investigation Insurance

Market leading tax fee protection insurance for businesses, sole traders and individuals. Protect yourself from accountancy fees in the event of an HMRC enquiry.

Having a Solar Protect Tax Investigation Insurance policy at your disposal means that should you be one of the many 1000's of businesses or individuals that are selected by HMRC each year to look into your tax affairs your own accountant (your tax return agent) can get on and defend you robustly.

You have the peace of mind knowing that your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees will be paid by the insurance without any Excess for you to find.

Tax Investigation Insurance is an insurance policy that will fully reimburse your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees up to £100,000 if you are subject to enquiry by or dispute with HMRC.

A Solar Protect policy will enable your accountant (your tax return agent) to:

• Deal with any correspondence from HMRC
• Attend any meeting with HMRC
• Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal
• Having the security of knowing that fees will be met in full will enable your Accountant (your tax return agent) to defend your position robustly

Please click here for details.

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"