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HMRC and Agents
At long last we have a leader of one of the major Institutes actually standing up and being counted on the situation we as agents find ourselves in when dealing with HMRC.
Day after day we take calls from members concerning the treatment being "meated out" to them and their clients by HMRC. The constant outpourings about fines, penalties, Interest charges, task forces, new regimes at al have brought relations to the lowest level possibly for decades. Investigations are reaching all time peaks, and yes I make no bones about calling an HMRC investigation that which it is, an investigation not an enquiry, and at the same token HMRC is passing our tax debts to the like of "Wheel Clampers". Now clients are being investigated before they have actually filed a Return under the guise of the new bookeeping initiative or as I prefer to call it the fine gathering initiative. At no time has there been any acknowledgement on the part of HMRC of the inadequacies on their part, never have we heard about automatic fines for late payments of refunds and there appears to be no possibility of any form of surcharge either. I'm just waiting to see what the supposed "Soft Landing" approach will be to late filings due to IXBRL problems. IXBRL another issue that is one sided and we all know which side.
Agents are being told to use the services of an Agent Account Manager as if this were the "holy grail" but how many Agent Accounts managers are there compared to the number of Agents. No this frankly is just not good enough. All the talk about the quality of Agents is never matched by any agnst on the part of HMRC about the quality of their staff.
Daily our members are sent letters dated weeks in advance of them actually being sent and are then taken to task for not responding speedily, we are telephoned at varying intevals throughout the day, having to answer more lengthy security questions only to find the caller is ringing about why our client has not paid a tax bill! yet JUST TRY TO CHASE A REFUND FOR A CLIENT AND SEE HOW FAR YOU GET.
Mr Thomas is correct in everything he says, he has stated the case far better than I could and with a lot more restraint, he deserves to be heard by those at HMRC who can actually start reversing this process, and he deserves the support of all Agents not just those affiliated to the CIOT.
I firmly believe that the relationship between HMRC, the taxpayer and his advisor is the biggest single issue facing the profession today and one that requires more men like Mr Thomas to stand up and be counted.
Tony Margaritelli - Chair ICPA
hear hear !
Well said,
Added to which they are failing to collect tax from errant taxpayers who are seen to escape the law.
The whole situation should be a comedy sketch, bring back monty python !
Standard HMRC response to failure is to blame someone else, (e.g. Paye)
They are not helped in the process by the budget cuts, I ask you when you need to collect more tax where would you spend your resources. Its not rocket science is it ?
I'll vote for that President!
And I'm not even a member of the CIOT.
Finally, after years of mealy-mouthed appeasement from so many organisations, someone's finally had the guts to stand up and tell it exactly like it is.
Thank you very much indeed, Mr. Thomas.
And to the chair of the ICPA for his support.
I really hope the situation can be rescued before it gets ugly -If they won't listen politely, my idea for a "taxpayers' strike" is still up for grabs!
Hear Hear
I would like to applaud Anthony Thomas' speech.
Although not a CIOT member, I too was delighted that a major institure has at last stood up for the profession.
ICPA Chair's support
Dear Tony
I think you put it equally robustly as the CIOT President, if not more graphically. I have had letters giving me 28 days to reply 'from the date of the letter' only to receive it with 7 days left to their impossible deadline. Post marks show that the letter was not posted for 2 weeks and then sent 2nd class mail - why? Not very helpful is it.
Long overdue
Thank you so much Mr Thomas. You have articulated my thoughts very well.
HMRC no longer listen to agents' views nor cares about our difficulties in dealing with their monopoly.
I am sad to say the healthy respect I had for HMRC built up over 35 years is now replaced by contempt.
As an ICAEW member this is the sort of stance I wish my own institute would adopt. The old order has been swept away and it is about time we took stock as a profession and accepted reality.
What does it take for us to recognise HMRC have no intention of improving voluntarily? Surely the arrogance of Hartley & Co confirms that to us all? HMRC does what it wants. There is no account taken of the adverse impact their decisions have on taxpayers or agents. Just review your experience over the last 5/6 + years. How many examples do you need to convince yourselves?
Their use of the words 'customer', and 'service' is an insult to the language and our intelligence.
I am afraid I do not have any answers other than - complain, complain, complain - but I hope this may be the first step on a long road towards making HMRC accountable again. Let us remember and remind them as taxpayers they are our agents not the other way around.