Saturday 30 December 2017

Arise Sir Edward Troup

!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Saturday 23 December 2017

Merry Christmas



Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Monday 18 December 2017

HMRC Unveils Penalty Points System


HMRC recently published details of the penalties system for late submissions and payments under Making Tax Digital, confirming it plans to pursue a points-based model.

Under this model, taxpayers would receive a point every time they fail to submit on time. A penalty will be charged at a certain threshold, which will be dependent on the frequency of their submission obligations. After the threshold has been reached, a penalty will be charged for every subsequent submission failure.

The penalty thresholds put forward are:

- 2 points for annual submissions,
- 4 points for quarterly submissions and
- 5 points for monthly submissions.

One amendment to the model following the consultation is that penalty points will have a shelf-life and would expire after a period of good compliance.

Periods of good compliance were outlined by HMRC as:

- 2 submissions for annual submissions,
- 4 for quarterly, and
- 6 for monthly.

HMRC have said they will make penalty points and actual penalties appealable, and give taxpayers the option to claim a reasonable excuse for failing to meet a filing obligation.

Which may well open up a can of worms, given how many appeals are likely to be lodged as a result of the increase obligations on the hapless taxpayers under MTD>

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Friday 15 December 2017

HMRC's Rickety Computer Systems Crash Again!


My thanks to a loyal reader who posted that HMRC had yet another systems crash yesterday:
"Systems down again yesterday (14th) from early doors throughout the day. Came on intermittently for a few mins at a time then went on the blink again."
It seems that HMRC have managed to keep this away from the mainstream media for the time being.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Well Observed Elaine!


This complicates the UK's already massively over complex tax system!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Thursday 14 December 2017

HMRC Gamekeeper Turned Poacher Convicted


Laura Southern, a former HMRC worker has been convicted of “the very crime” she was paid to detect - after cheating the taxpayer out of £34,000.

BelfastLive reports that Southern lied about living with her partner to claim tax credits.

Southern, from Clonmore Park in Lisburn, Co Antrim worked as a HMRC Benefits and Credits Compliance Manager in Belfast “checking for fraudulent tax credits claims”.

Southern for five years “falsely claimed to be a single parent, while living with her partner”.

Joff(CORR) Parsons, Assistant Director, Internal Governance, HMRC, said she “was employed to track down people committing the very crime she has been convicted of”.

He added:
She knew exactly what she was doing and even though she knew it was wrong, thought she could get away with stealing tax credits she wasn’t entitled to. But her deceit was exposed and now she is paying the price.

We expect the highest professional standards and integrity from our staff; no one is exempt and we will pursue criminals like Southern who think it is acceptable to steal tax credits. We ask anyone with information about tax fraud to contact the HMRC Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”
Southern was given a 15 month prison sentence, suspended for three years, at Craigavon Crown Court on Tuesday, December 12 after pleading guilty to being knowingly concerned in fraudulent activity with a view to obtaining payments of tax credits, contrary to Section 35 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 and to cheating the public revenue.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Wednesday 13 December 2017

HMRC Systems Down?


My thanks to a loyal reader who posted yesterday that HMRC were down:
"Systems down again from 12PM...what a crap I.T system !!!"
I have had a look on Twitter and Google, but cannot find any mention of this. Have others experienced problems in the last 24 hours?

Thanks.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Tuesday 12 December 2017

Distinguishing Tax Avoidance and Evasion: Why and How


Allison Christians in her article "Distinguishing Tax Avoidance and Evasion: Why and How" correctly points out that:
"Much public discourse about tax policy conflates tax avoidance and tax evasion as if they were effectively the same phenomenon."
She notes:
"Tax evasion is wholly objectionable [...]. Tax avoidance describes a range of taxpayer behaviors, not all of which are wholly unobjectionable in the context of an otherwise coherent tax system. Tax avoidance and evasion can and should be distinguished..."
As she concludes:
"The failure to coherently delineate between tax evasion and tax avoidance is not the product of legal impossibility but rather of governance failure."
As I have noted many times on this site, the responsibility for the shambles that is our tax system rests with our "respected" MPs!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Monday 11 December 2017

Hot Off The Presses



Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Judge Ridicules HMRC Automated Penalty


"In my view the requirement in s 100(1) TMA is for a flesh and blood human being who is an officer of HMRC to make the assessment, that is to decide to impose the penalty and give instructions which may be executed by a computer (s 113(1D) TMA).

24. That officer should be named in the notice otherwise the recipient will not know to which officer to address the appeal as required by s 31A(1)(c) TMA."
The judge gives HMRC a well deserved kicking!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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 Staff Forbidden To Tidy Their Desk Drawers


I would just like to follow up on a comment posted by a loyal reader last week about desks:
"Anonymous @ 11:52. 'ANOTHER day of tea,cake and online shopping'. I have no idea where you got the information that staff on phones could ever do any of those things except on their lunch breaks, but it couldn't be more wrong: Even when computers and everything is off, we are not even allowed to give our desk drawers a long over due tidy out. The managers forbid it, whilst running around like headless chickens trying to find some unnecessary training or creep checking of work to occupy our time."
Please can someone explain to me why members of staff are not allowed to tidy their desk drawers?

That makes no sense to me at all!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Friday 8 December 2017

Sigh :(



Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Thursday 7 December 2017

Congratulations East Kilbride?


Hang on though, isn't East Kilbride closing?

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Wednesday 6 December 2017

HMRC Phone Lines and Webchat Crash


My thanks to a loyal reader, who posted a link to a report that HMRC's phone lines and its webchat facility crashed yesterday.

HMRC don't seem to know why this happened.

Please let me know if the problems persist.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Tuesday 5 December 2017

Refund of Stamp Duty Erroneously Paid


HMRC has confirmed that first-time buyers who have accidentally paid stamp duty on property purchases completed since the Budget on 22 November will be able to claim refunds.

Anyone who buys their first home for less than £300,000 will not pay any tax, while those who buy property worth up to £500,000 will get partial relief.

HMRC said the stamp duty exemption applied to any purchase completed on or after Budget day. Anyone who may have paid too much stamp duty should go to gov.uk and go to this link.
 
Alternatively address your request to BT  Stamp Duty Land Tax, HM Revenue & Customs BX9 1HD


Tax does have to be taxing.  

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Friday 1 December 2017

Jim Harra Appointed HMRC Second Permanent Secretary


Jim Harra, HMRC’s tax assurance commissioner and director general customer for strategy and tax design, is to HMRC’s second permanent secretary.

He will take on the new role which was created in response to Edward Troup’s announcement in September that he would be retiring as chair of HMRC at the end of the year .
Harra’s appointment means that HMRC will continue to have a tax professional as one of its two permanent secretaries.
Frank Haskew, head of the ICAEW Tax Faculty, welcomed the appointment. As per economia:
But we certainly welcome it: he knows his stuff and he is someone you can do business with.
He added:
He had a knack of telling you how it is but it was also clear he cared about your concerns and how HMRC could improve. That’s really important when you are dealing with stakeholders whose members are at the sharp end when things go wrong. HMRC has picked a good ambassador.”
Paul Aplin, ICAEW deputy president and tax partner in A C Mole said:
His experience within HMRC at board and EXCOM level is unrivalled and he is experienced in both the media and political spheres.” 
Harra joined the Inland Revenue as an inspector of taxes in 1984. In January 2009, he was appointed director of corporation tax and VAT with responsibility for optimising their design and delivery. In March 2011, he was promoted to director of personal tax customer operations and seven months later to director personal tax operations.

He became director general business tax in April 2012 and took up his current dual role in October 2016.

He said that he was looking forward to his new appointment.
The work we are doing in the department to create a tax system that makes it easier for taxpayers to get things right, and to prepare for the UK leaving the EU, is vitally important and touches every life in the country.

I am proud to have been given the opportunity to help lead this important work.”
In his new role he will be working in tandem with Jon Thompson, HMRC’s permanent secretary, who has been in post since April 2016.

Thompson said
There are some enormous and important challenges ahead for HMRC: our transformation programme to make us a world class, digital-first tax authority; our focus on supporting the hones majority and clamping down on the dishonest minority; and our work to rise to the challenges of exiting the EU – particularly customs and the border.

Jim knows HMRC and its customers well and will bring his usual dedication, knowledge and professionalism to the role."
Oh, by the way, Harra doesn't believe that IR35 changes have caused contractors to exit the public sector:
“This has not happened. HMRC has been monitoring this. Contractors come and go, and the market is naturally fluid, but it would be wrong to suggest that the public sector has significant recruitment gaps because of this reform.”
Hmmm...

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Thursday 30 November 2017

HMRC Loses Appeal Against Spurs


Football is clearly becoming a wee fetish of HMRC. AccountancyAge reports that the Upper Tribunal has rejected an appeal from HMRC in a case relating to the taxation of termination payments made to football player employees of Tottenham Hotspur Limited.

In 2016, the First-Tier Tribunal ruled that certain termination payments made to two players contracted to the football club – Wilson Palacios and Peter Crouch – were not taxable as earnings from their employment. The tribunal also found that the payments were not subject to national insurance contributions (NICs).

Palacios and Crouch had received lump sum payments on early termination of their employment contracts, with both players joining Stoke City in a transfer deal. Palacios received £900,000 once the transfer was made, plus an additional £510,000 paid on 15 August 2012.

Crouch agreed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur under which he received a “termination payment” of £3m in three equal instalments following the termination of his employment with the club on 31 August 2011.

The Upper Tribunal said that the question was whether the payments were to be treated as general “earnings from employment” or an “emolument of the employment”, or as payment received in connection with the termination of employment. The Tribunal said that it was “common ground” that if the payments were “from an employment”, then the first £30,000 would be subject to tax, and the payment would be subject to NICs.
HMRC had argued that the payments “represented earnings from the players’ employments” and were therefore subject to income tax and NICs.

Tottenham appealed HMRC’s decision in 2015, advocating that the payments “represented compensation for the early termination of the players’ contracts”, and were therefore not “from” employment.

The Upper Tribunal upheld the decision of the First-Tier Tribunal. It said that there was a distinction between cases where “the entire contract of employment is abrogated in exchange for the termination payment” and cases where “the payment is made in pursuance of a pre-existing obligation to make such a payment arising under a contract of employment”. Both the cases of Palacios and Crouch “fell squarely” into the first category, the Tribunal said.

An HMRC spokesperson said that the Revenue believed it had applied the correct tax treatment to the payments and was pursuing its appeal of the First-tier Tribunal’s decision.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Wednesday 29 November 2017

Driving Licence Penalty Points System


As was reported recently, there are plans in place to remove HMRC's automatic £100 fine for late self-assessment returns and replace it with a driving licence style points system.

All very well and good that HMRC may have recognised that the automatic fines were bollocks. However, there are a number of potential issues with the proposed new system as noted by the FT:

1  The Association of Taxation Technicians described the reform proposal as sensible, but called for careful consultation on the detail, as it warned that a points system risked throwing up some anomalies.

Yvette Nunn, co-chair of ATT’s technical steering group, said that under a points system previously floated by HMRC, it appeared that “some persistent defaulters might avoid a penalty, while some more compliant taxpayers could incur a penalty”.

2  Paul Aplin, vice-president of ICAEW, said he was pleased that the government was committed to reforming the system. However, he said he was disappointed that immediate action was not being taken to correct the unfairness of the current regime.
Restoring the previous system would have restored fairness at a stroke and would not have prevented a more comprehensive points based penalty system being introduced subsequently.
More to the point, HMRC is moving towards issuing higher fines to those it believes deliberately misstated their tax situation.

Needless to say, HMRC will decide who has been "deliberate" and who has been "accidental"!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Tuesday 28 November 2017

HMRC Visits Oldham Athletic


As loyal readers have noted, HMRC enjoys football away days. Hence it should come as no surprise to learn that HMRC visited Oldham Athletic yesterday.

However, according to the BBC, the visit was not to watch a football match.
"Oldham Athletic say they are "co-operating fully" with officers from HM Revenue and Customs who visited the League One club on Monday.

Latics chief executive Mark Moisley told BBC Radio Manchester that a number of officials arrived in the morning.

Moisley said he spoke with them and they went through paperwork before taking some away with them.

He added that the visit would not have any effect on a proposed takeover of the club which is ongoing."
Just out of curiosity, don't football away days constitute a potential conflict of interest if at the same time HMRC are conducting investigations into the tax arrangements of football clubs and players?


Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Friday 24 November 2017

HMRC Wins Operational Excellence Award

Meanwhile in a universe far far away....

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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 Government Is Broke


Bear in mind that this real time adjustment is only for underpayments, taxpayers who are overpaying because of an erroneous tax code will have to wait.

Why?

The government is bankrupt, and HMRC's stated objective is to maximise revenue!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Thursday 23 November 2017

Steve Lamey Does Irony - Blames HMRC


Steve Lamey ex HMRC CEO & CIO and ousted head of the Student Loan Company has laid the blame on HMRC for all of the SLC problems!

The Student Loans Company and HMRC are embroiled in a war of words over who is to blame for the outdated systems that cause thousands of graduates to overpay their loans.

In an interview this week, Steve Lamey blamed HMRC for the delays in improving the system.

–– ADVERTISEMENT ––

The comments came after a Freedom of Information request from accountants RSM earlier this year found that for 2015-16, the latest figures available, 86,000 graduates had cleared their student loans and yet were continuing to pay thousands of pounds. This is an 80pc increase in the past six years.

The individuals repaid more on their loans than they owed, with the overpayments totalling £51m.

The average overpayment per graduate was £592, but in some cases it was more than £10,000.
Borrowers who overpay face a long wait for refunds, which, when they come, are paid with a derisory rate of interest.

The Telegraph reports that the errors are due to HMRC collecting the bulk of graduates’ loan repayments monthly through their salaries, but handing this information to the Student Loans Company only once a year.

Lamey said he asked for “real-time information” from HMRC to fix the problem.

We have been asking HMRC for up-to-date student loan repayment data ever since the development of the real-time information system several years ago, but they consistently blocked our request.” 
However, Jon Thompson, chief executive and permanent secretary of HMRC, told the Treasury select committee in September that the loans company was to blame.

HMRC said:
It is untrue to suggest that we are opposed to data sharing. We are committed to sharing repayment data with the Student Loans Company on a much more regular basis.”
You couldn't make this up!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

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Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Wednesday 22 November 2017

Follow The #Budget2017 Live




Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Tuesday 21 November 2017

HMRC's Technical Problems Impact Taxpayers


I reproduce below, in full, an article from the Telegraph outlining one taxpayer's problems with online assessment leading to an erroneous £300 fine.
Last year I completed my online tax return for 2015-16 and I have a copy of it. 

There was £43 due back to me and, as it was a small amount, I didn’t look to see if it had been paid into our bank account as requested. 

Sometime later I received a message reminder that online tax returns needed to be submitted by Jan 31 2017 or a fine might be imposed.  

Happy in the knowledge that I had completed my return months before and with a copy of what I submitted, I presumed it was just a general reminder. You can therefore imagine my alarm when I had a demand for £100 for a fine for not having submitted my return. 

I immediately filed an online appeal against this quoting when I had submitted it. However, the self-assessment page on the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website told me my return was overdue and invited me to complete it.   

On the relevant page, I was greeted with the message stating at the top that the return for 2015-16 had been submitted. However, further down it came up with an error message, which said: “There was a problem and your return was not submitted. We have saved it automatically and you can submit it again by clicking ‘Next’.”

On the next page it said: “The submission service is temporarily unavailable.  

“There is a problem with the system and we have still not received your return. We have saved it and you need to log out and try submitting it again later. We are sorry for this."

PR, New Zealand

You went straight back to the HMRC appeals page and pointed out the problem and then sent written details of the error messages. 

You tried calling from New Zealand, but couldn’t get through. You appealed again and this time had a message back saying that HMRC couldn’t look at it until you had submitted your return, which you couldn’t as the site wouldn’t let you.

You trawled the internet and found another number and spoke to someone, who said you had contacted the wrong department. You got in touch with the online help desk and received a case number and a request for up-to-date screengrabs, which you then sent. 

HMRC contacted you again for another screenshot and you were told that your case was being investigated. Then you received in the post a notice that the fine had gone up to £300. 

I spoke to HMRC and it put a stop to further penalties. It gave you more time to submit paper returns while it resolved the problem you have had with submitting forms online. 

In a statement, HMRC said: “We have contacted the taxpayer to explain how this happened. He should not face problems submitting future returns online.” 

I believe there was a technical issue that is now resolved but which has not been fully explained to me. You have now filed a paper return.  

HMRC said no other taxpayers have reported the same issue. That said, I have heard from other readers that they have had problems signing in to their HMRC self-assessment account. 

JD, of Cheshire, who found himself in this situation (albeit it is not exactly identical to yours) said he found HMRC’s digital complaints team to be very helpful. "
HMRC claim they have had no other reports of problems, has anyone else experienced similar issues?

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Monday 20 November 2017

HMRC 101st Out of 107 In Staff Engagement


My thanks to the loyal reader who posted this comment about HMRC's ranking in the people survey:
"101st out of 107 in staff engagement, yes thats bloody success isnt it. 1 in 9 reported being bullied, 61% not investigated. 33% didnt do the survey because we knew what wad going to happen with it. Pay and conditions score little improvement. Its a whitewash, no other word for it. How do these people sleep at night. The department is in crisis, come brexit it will be in meltdown. Rearranging the Deckchairs on the Titanic. As Churchill said "success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm" says it all really."
Please can someone provide me with a link to the ranking, I can't see it in the Civil Service link I posted the other day?

Thanks


Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Friday 17 November 2017

HMRC Staff Survey Results 2017


Staff survey results https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/659569/Civil_Service_People_Survey_2017_Summary_of_main_department_scores_2009_to_2017.pdf
Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Thursday 16 November 2017

Customs Ways and Means



Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"

Wednesday 15 November 2017

The Oncoming Customs Catastrophe


It seems that MPs have woken up to the oncoming post Brexit Customs catastrophe.

PAC has warned of the "catastrophic" scenario of  HMRC failing to have a back-up system in place if its Customs Declaration Service (CDS) programme is not ready in time for Brexit.

A failed customs system could lead to huge disruption for businesses, with delays potentially causing massive queues at Dover and resulting in food being left to rot in trucks at the border.

Committee chair Meg Hillier said the body does not yet have funding to increase the capacity of CDS to deal with the consequences of Brexit – nor to develop contingency options.

She is quoted by The Register:
"This is deeply worrying. HMRC requires a relatively small sum to upgrade the current CHIEF system – a move which would provide some peace of mind to traders, many of whom are still operating with limited information and in great uncertainty."
HMRC started planning to replace its customs system, known as Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight, prior to Brexit following changes to EU legislation which would have been costly and difficult to make using CHIEF's ageing technology.

The department has said using its existing CHIEF system is the main contingency option if CDS isn't ready, something it is developing as a contingency option in parallel with its implementation of CDS.

Hillier is unimpressed:
"HMRC tells us it is merely 'in conversation' over CHIEF upgrade costs when, on behalf of business and the British public, it should be banging on the doors of the Treasury.

HMRC must press the case to secure this funding now and ensure that, if other plans fail, customs will be fit for purpose."
PAC "noted" that HMRC "is currently managing an unsustainable amount of change" which could put the delivery of CDS at risk.
"HMRC told us that CDS is one of its seven most important programmes but we are concerned about the Department's ability to balance its overall risks and ensure it puts emphasis on the right areas," said the body.
This will end in tears!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance 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 Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



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"