John Connors, the former director of HM Revenue & Customs' (HMRC) large business and employers customer unit, has taken up a new post with Vodafone, the telecoms company involved in a tax dispute with the Revenue. Rob Lewis reports
Connors is believed to be working as deputy tax director under group tax director Joel Walters. In an official statement, Vodafone said their new recruit brought "deep leadership experience" to the role, as well as "a strong technical, operational and tax policy expertise gained in his service to HMRC, HM Treasury and in Brussels where he served as UK tax expert with the European Commission".
Doubtless this will be invaluable to his new employer, who has been fighting a tax battle with HMRC and other European tax authorities over its takeover of the German telecoms rival Mannesmann, acquired through its Luxembourg subsidiary in 2000.
Vodafone's £2bn quarrel with the UK taxman relates to the Controlled Foreign Companies rules, through which HMRC impose a charge in relation to the undistributed profits of tax-advantaged, offshore subsidiaries. Together with a number of other large corporations, it has taken the matter to an increasingly overloaded European Court of Justice, where the case is still pending.
Vodafone's search for a new tax specialist began in August last year, and was advertised with a six figure salary. It is not yet known if Connors was approached or applied, and the chronology of events is also unclear, but Vodafone have stated that "appropriate procedures" were followed.
Ironically, one of Connors' last jobs in his old post was to attend a tax conference in London, where he presented a review of the links between HMRC and large business. A "more transparent" approach was needed, he argued.
