MTD for VAT-Govmt response to HoL report

Mel Stride-No plans to delay

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By Kaylee100
13th Feb 2019 11:00

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."

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Replying to Kaylee100:
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By Open all hours
13th Feb 2019 17:00

Significant day. We have one client with an MTD letter. It’s all going so very well. Trebles all round at HMRC.

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PJ
By paulgrca.net
13th Feb 2019 12:48

How can they get away with this rubbish and lies none of our clients have received a letter either!

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By SteveHa
13th Feb 2019 12:59

Did Mel Stride compose the response, or was it the intransigent Dictator May?

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Tornado
By Tornado
13th Feb 2019 14:00

Mel Stride will be the fall guy for the mess that this will be, and still he doesn't see it!

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By DaveyJonesLocker
13th Feb 2019 14:25

May has no plans to delay Brexit either. We'll see about both....

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By GHarr497688
13th Feb 2019 16:00

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

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By david.bransbury
13th Feb 2019 17:35

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.

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Replying to david.bransbury:
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By Kaylee100
13th Feb 2019 17:45

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).

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Replying to david.bransbury:
Tornado
By Tornado
13th Feb 2019 18:01

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.

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Replying to Tornado:
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By david.bransbury
13th Feb 2019 18:36

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.

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Replying to david.bransbury:
Tornado
By Tornado
13th Feb 2019 20:29

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.

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By Mike Towle
13th Feb 2019 18:05

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!

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