Photo: Jonathan Banks
Over the last few months HMRC boss Dave Hartnett has got it in the neck for giving some big businesses (such as Vodafone and Goldman Sachs) some amazingly generous tax deals, losing The Revenue an estimated 25 billion in, errum, revenue. Why give these big companies such generous tax breaks?
There is video of him being questioned in the Treasury Select Committee late last year about this and he looks extremely uncomfortable. Some sources have suggested he bent over backwards for a few free meals and a case of Châteaux de Châteaux. Well – if that was the case – that was corporate hospitality well spent, it’s tax deductible you know!
But to bring us up to date, he’s just given The Telegraph an intervew pointing the finger at ‘the man in the street’ who pays for services such as building and plumbing (a HMRC bête noire) with cash. He said, “Tax provides the funding to run the country: hospitals, schools and everything else. Every time someone pays cash in order not to pay VAT, the nation gets diddled.”
My old flatmate used to say, when you point your finger at somebody else you are pointing three at yourself.
Video shows a recent encounter between Lesley Strathie, HMRC’s Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary, and the Treasury Select Committee
Phoning HMRC can be a frustrating business, waiting times are often long, see The Guardian article HMRC tax helpline overwhelmed here. What makes it worse is that HMRC often only give out 0845 numbers and if you are calling on a mobile the cost can be breathtaking, I say ‘can be’ because it’s impossible to give an accurate rate as different mobile phone companies use different tariffs. But don’t be too shocked if you end up paying 40p a minute.
So where does the money go? HMRC say they don’t get any cash this way, it’s all taken by the phone company, Cable & Wireless. Normaly revenue generated in this way would be split 50:50 so if this is the case it’s an unusual set up.
HMRC simply can’t win here: if they say (as they do) we don’t generate cash from the calls it’s like, “Well why not? Why waste this opportunity to maximise income rather than giving it all to C&W?” and if they say, Well actually we do take half then there would be outrage because people are trying to phone up to sort their tax out and they are being penalised for it.
There are two answers: 1. HMRC should stop using these bonkers numbers, which actually deter people calling. And 2. Taxpayers should use sites like www.saynoto0870.com to get around the 0845 charges.
So that’s the background: in the video Strathie, HMRC’s Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary, is being questioned about the quantity of phone numbers and the fact that many are are 0845. She states (with a degree of exasperation) that HMRC do not make any money from the 0845 numbers. But it’s Strathie’s body language and general squirming which is the point of the video. Here is somebody used to getting her own way being held to account for something that is clearly wrong.
They say, “I will accept that challenge” which means that simply nothing will change.
You may also want to read Scandal of Government helplines that cost 40p a minute from the Mirror.
As ever I’m indebted to http://hmrcisshite.blogspot.com/ for investigative excellence.
