Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.
AIA

MPs claiming for tax advice is ‘morally indefensible’

by
28th May 2009
Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

The Professional Contractors Group (PCG), which represents freelance workers in the UK, called MPs ‘morally indefensible’ after it was revealed that nine members of the Cabinet claimed for personal tax advice on their expenses. Gina Dyer reports.

Ministers used £11,000 of taxpayers’ money to pay for tax return processing. Alistair Darling, Jacqui Smith, Hazel Blears, David Miliband, James Purnell, Douglas Alexander, Geoff Hoon and Hilary Benn all made claims, but a Labour spokesperson insisted that the advice claims were within Commons rules. Darling claimed he had paid an accountant to prepare tax returns “to ensure the correct amount of tax was paid in respect of my office costs”.

“This is frankly galling”, said John Brazier, managing director of the PCG. “Tax rules prevent most people from claiming the cost of employing an accountant to handle their self assessment return. There seems to be one rule for cabinet ministers and another for the rest of us. This is morally indefensible”.

This week the Telegraph also revealed that David Bates, who is married to the former foreign office minister Meg Munn, was paid from the public purse to give tax advice to David Miliband, Gillian Merron, John Healey and Jim Knight. Munn is also said to have paid her husband £345 a year for help with her tax returns.

All the ministers recouped the cost of employing Bates from parliamentary allowances intended to fund office expenses. The Telegraph reports that Bates does not appear to work for a professional accountancy firm, although he is reported to have formerly worked for HMRC.

Matthew Elliot of campaign group the TaxPayers’ Alliance told the newspaper that the latest revelations made chancellor Alistair Darling’s position ‘completely untenable’.

“What you’ll get is thousands of businesses around the country saying why can’t we claim similar accountancy advice and expenses and you can’t have these double standards,” he said.

HMRC has already launched an inquiry into whether MPs should have paid tax on ‘excessive’ expenses claims.

Tags:

Replies (8)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

avatar
By mikewhit
03rd Jun 2009 18:13

New opportunity
Strikes me that what MPs need is their own equivalent of the Managed Service Company - a provider that will sort out their accountancy/SATR needs, validate/'sanity check' (!!) their expenses, allowances, mileage etc., advise on mortgage, CGT etc. and ensure everything is 'transparent' and 'fair' for the taxpayer.

[The "MPMSC" could then represent to the MPs what a nightmare some of the tax system was as well !]

Come on AW members !

or would Gordo close it down at the next budget as a "loophole" ...?

Thanks (0)
avatar
By User deleted
01st Jun 2009 16:53

What do MP's do with their Income?
Given that almost every possible day to day expenditure they incure is claimed back as expenses?

The sad fact is that we( you, me, press &media, etc) have known for many many years that this has been going on and I don't know why we are shocked now.

I recall a while back ( i think it was in 2007) That Channel 4 programme-Dispatches- had an episode on this very issue!

Thanks (0)
Mark Lee headshot 2023
By Mark Lee
01st Jun 2009 11:42

25 tax questions arising from the MPs expenses scandal
I'd agree with "morally indefensible".Indeed that's one of the milder descriptions that springs to mind.

Two weeks ago I identified 15 tax questions that had yet to be answered in connection with the MPs expenses scandal. I've now added another ten in the light of subsequent revelations. If you're interested the list is at the TaxBuzz blog

(And yes Keith, one of the questions I propose concerns asking whether HMRC will utilise their new Sch 36 FA08 powers to visit any 'business' premises to visit the Fees office to check all salient information that should have been disclosed?)

Mark Lee
Tax Advice Network

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Graeme Lindsay Abdn
01st Jun 2009 14:53

Tax doesn't need to be taxing but..............
As the "MPs accountant" does not appear to be a member of any professional body, has he registered with HMRC as a Accountancy Service Provider?

Another one for the list Mark?

Thanks (0)
avatar
By MikeBellisimo
01st Jun 2009 14:30

A Cheap shot....
As The Honourable Mr Darling might have said

"Tax doesn't have to be taxing when you hire an accountant to do all the hard work and then reclaim his fee from you the taxpayer.

I want to pay the right amount of tax but frankly, I find all this Tax stuff a bit complicated. I blame erm...."

Thanks (0)
Rebecca Benneyworth profile image
By Rebecca Benneyworth
01st Jun 2009 13:37

A cheap shot, I know...
but learning that the Chancellor of the Exchequer needed help filling in his tax return did make me smile. There's a clever comment there somewhere, but I'm so spoiled for choice I can't come up with anything coherent.....

And what "Commons rules" would these be? The ones that state that expenses must be incurred "wholly and exclusively" in association with their role as MP?

Thanks (0)
avatar
By User deleted
01st Jun 2009 11:39

Who needs safeguards now?
I do hope that HMRC will use the full range of their gleaming new powers as set out in Schedule 36 to the Finance Act 2008 when investigating the cabinet ministers.

Perhaps the Government might quickly realise that the statutory safeguards given to taxpayers are woefully inadequate.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By User deleted
29th May 2009 16:40

Don'ts worry - we've got them!
AccountingWEB subscribers should be assured that Members of Parliament will not escape their tax obligations. A very senior SCI inspector has been appointed to head up Operation Hogwash, which will look into the affairs of all 646 Members of Parliament.

Every MP will undergo a self assessment full enquiry, and in some cases matters will be passed to SCI who will then proceed under the COP9 or CIF procedure.

It is not anticipated that The Treasury will reap large sums from this initiative, but MPs will receive a timely lesson on how the UK tax system works, and what the 'ordinary' taxpayer has to endure.

Thanks (0)