It would seem Mel Stride/The Govmt has now responded to the HoL report on MTD for VAT.
https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-committees/economic-affairs/Go...
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Well they have a lot of letters to go out if all VAT taxpayers are to be told by early February. My clients (and me) seem to be bottom of that list as we have not received one.
And they aren't going to share the details of the pilot. Reminds me of Matilda's father "I'm big. You're small. I'm right. You're wrong."
Significant day. We have one client with an MTD letter. It’s all going so very well. Trebles all round at HMRC.
How can they get away with this rubbish and lies none of our clients have received a letter either!
Mel Stride will be the fall guy for the mess that this will be, and still he doesn't see it!
No letters for me or my 30 clients and its already mid-february and no time to get all the clients from manual to computer - Idiots
When VAT registered businesses (particularly unrepresented ones) don't do anything and appeal their penalties, this is the outcome.
HMRC barrister; Mr Taxpayer do watch TV or do you listen to Radio
Taxpayer; eh yes
HMRC barrister; did you see or hear the adverts by QuickBooks or Sage
Taxpayer; might have
Tribunal judge; Sorry penalties stand, appeal dismiss.
Sorry ignorance of the law is no excuse especially when the HMRC are involved.
Indeed. Once its in, the arguments are 1 small person versus HMRC and, given the other news today that HMRC dont even consider homelessness to be a reasonable excuse, what hope is there?
This has to be done at whatever cost to the taxpayer (which in almost all cases will be far in excess of that quoted).
What is the point of sending out letters then if people are expected to glean their information from the TV and Radio anyway.
By promising to send out letters to all people affected by or likely to be affected by MTD for VAT, HMRC have given significance to their actions, and by not actually doing this they have failed in their duty. Whether that is a moral duty or a legal one is debatable, but there is still an obligation to do what they said they would do.
It would have been better for HMRC if they had not said that they would write to all those affected, or likely to be affected by MTD for VAT, at all.
They are still looking pretty incompetent whichever way you view this.
Totally agree with you. But the tribunals are full of taxpayers appealing against penalties on the basis of ignorance of the law. A few self assessment cases I do have sympathy for. Also virtually all cases regarding the 30 day CGT return rule particularly where there is no tax involved.
As I said before the HMRC are no longer warm and cuddly regarding MTD for VAT and doing nothing is not the answer either to agents or VAT registered businesses.
I don't particularly care whether HMRC are warm and cuddly or not, but I do care about them being fair and honest. I believe that as a body, HMRC are incompetent and are also quite ready to bend the rules to suit themselves if pressurised.
I receive a letter from the HMRC complaints department yesterday which is dated 11th February 2019. That letter refers to another letter from someone else in HMRC dated the 9th February 2019.
I do not understand and think there is another letter to me which is dated 9th February 2019 that I have not received yet. I wait over 20 minutes to get through to the complaints department and eventually find out that my letter was actually sent on the 9th February 2019 (even though it was dated 11th February 2019) and the other letter that was supposed to be dated 9th February 2019 was dated 12th February 2019 and has not yet reached me.
It seems to me that there is some blatant manipulation of letter dates here which is something that any professional would definitely not do.
I thought of writing to complain but as I am already being written to by someone who is looking at my complaint about another person from the complaints department, I wonder if there is anyone else available to look at my complaint about someone who is looking at my complaint about someone else in the complaints department.
The bottom line is that nothing will come of this as HMRC rally around and cover each others backs and regrettably I simply do not trust anything that HMRC say any more.
The HoL report claimed there would no free software available for MTD VAT returns.
They were wrong. I wrote to them and pointed it out. Never did get a response.
They were pretty much right on everything else though!