I agree. My mother in law is in a care home. Had to apply for Savings credit and was given a latest response time of 17th April. No reply yet a month later. Have spoken to DWP a number of times and have not yet had a single response going back to March last year.
I had to deal with this department a few years ago and the HMRC officer I spoke to refused to talk to me without a signed paper 64-8. I was told that it was standard policy in this department. I pointed out that on the HMRC website it stated that online approval by the client after entering the code HMRC sent out was all that was needed. We ended up with a heated discussion and then allowed me to go ahead 'just this once". It was total nonsense.
A colleague of mine in The Netherlands said that our civil service appears to put the onus on the business to apply correctly and then sends out letters telling you where you got it wrong - your Gotcha basis mentioned above. With HMRC the Gotcha basis involves penalties, interest and heartache. The same colleague sad that in The Netherlands the civil service sit down with their business colleagues and help them get it right first time. It saves a whole lot of aggravation all round. What is needed is a shift in mindset from Gotcha to HelpYa. HMRC would be a good place to start.
I agree with your comment, but problems arise when the business owner doesn't realise the need to take professional advice, thinking the VAT is just a formality.
Why don't they just get the system simplified. Charge VAT on Commercial Property Rents and let the builder/developer claim back the VAT on the construction costs and no VAT charged on property sale/purchase transactions. The current system is a nonsense and fraught with opportunities for taxpayers to get it wrong, unless represented by a competent professional.
I had the misfortune to be with a HiFi equipment importer when VAT was introduced. We had a big drop in sales beforehand, because consumers were expecting a large price drop to the VAT rate from the Purchase Tax rate. However, we had been holding off on a price increase, because as an importer we had been under extreme margin pressure from the falling pound. So when the big day happened, our retail prices remain unchanged. This caused storm of protest and ended up with accounts staff manning the phones as well as the customer service team.
VAT is a terrible tax and I have no fond memories of its introduction. For many in business it is tax neutral and just a waste of effort doing the bookkeeping - your sale equals my purchase. Add in the complexities on things like property, partial exemption, retail margin scheme etc and it is a minefield for business people. Having spent many years in the food industry, there are many other anomalies, not just Jaffa cakes. I am all in favour of a consumer sales tax that is not recoverable by anyone in the supply chain. Costs for crucial organisations like the NHS that are currently VAT Exempt would go down, because they would not pay a consumer sales tax and would save the non-recoverable VAT.
I have thought more about this ridiculous comment from Harra. I spent 11 years of my life working for Pillsbury, the American food group. Their quality systems were based on getting it right first time. Their systems were taken up by NASA, because the last thing you want is food poisoning in a space suit. Also, much of our Food Safety Act in 1990 was based on the same principles known as HACCP - Hazards Analysis of Critical Control Points.
Which brings me to HMRC and the total failure to get anything done first time, that then manifests itself in overloaded phone lines and huge waits for correspondence to be answered. It ain’t rocket science, just ask NASA.
My answers
I agree. My mother in law is in a care home. Had to apply for Savings credit and was given a latest response time of 17th April. No reply yet a month later. Have spoken to DWP a number of times and have not yet had a single response going back to March last year.
I too have recently had dealings with the Irish VAT department. Couldn’t have been more helpful and fast.
I too have recently had dealings with the Irish VAT department. Couldn’t have been mire helpful and fast.
I had to deal with this department a few years ago and the HMRC officer I spoke to refused to talk to me without a signed paper 64-8. I was told that it was standard policy in this department. I pointed out that on the HMRC website it stated that online approval by the client after entering the code HMRC sent out was all that was needed. We ended up with a heated discussion and then allowed me to go ahead 'just this once". It was total nonsense.
A colleague of mine in The Netherlands said that our civil service appears to put the onus on the business to apply correctly and then sends out letters telling you where you got it wrong - your Gotcha basis mentioned above. With HMRC the Gotcha basis involves penalties, interest and heartache. The same colleague sad that in The Netherlands the civil service sit down with their business colleagues and help them get it right first time. It saves a whole lot of aggravation all round. What is needed is a shift in mindset from Gotcha to HelpYa. HMRC would be a good place to start.
I agree with your comment, but problems arise when the business owner doesn't realise the need to take professional advice, thinking the VAT is just a formality.
Why don't they just get the system simplified. Charge VAT on Commercial Property Rents and let the builder/developer claim back the VAT on the construction costs and no VAT charged on property sale/purchase transactions. The current system is a nonsense and fraught with opportunities for taxpayers to get it wrong, unless represented by a competent professional.
I had the misfortune to be with a HiFi equipment importer when VAT was introduced. We had a big drop in sales beforehand, because consumers were expecting a large price drop to the VAT rate from the Purchase Tax rate. However, we had been holding off on a price increase, because as an importer we had been under extreme margin pressure from the falling pound. So when the big day happened, our retail prices remain unchanged. This caused storm of protest and ended up with accounts staff manning the phones as well as the customer service team.
VAT is a terrible tax and I have no fond memories of its introduction. For many in business it is tax neutral and just a waste of effort doing the bookkeeping - your sale equals my purchase. Add in the complexities on things like property, partial exemption, retail margin scheme etc and it is a minefield for business people. Having spent many years in the food industry, there are many other anomalies, not just Jaffa cakes. I am all in favour of a consumer sales tax that is not recoverable by anyone in the supply chain. Costs for crucial organisations like the NHS that are currently VAT Exempt would go down, because they would not pay a consumer sales tax and would save the non-recoverable VAT.
What you have described is Hugo's point 1.
I have thought more about this ridiculous comment from Harra. I spent 11 years of my life working for Pillsbury, the American food group. Their quality systems were based on getting it right first time. Their systems were taken up by NASA, because the last thing you want is food poisoning in a space suit. Also, much of our Food Safety Act in 1990 was based on the same principles known as HACCP - Hazards Analysis of Critical Control Points.
Which brings me to HMRC and the total failure to get anything done first time, that then manifests itself in overloaded phone lines and huge waits for correspondence to be answered. It ain’t rocket science, just ask NASA.