If HMRC went back to the caseworker pattern of working instead of "off the pile" (via a computer) the person responsible could be held to account. As it stands no one cares a flying fish what happens. Lack of responsibility abounds at all levels.
It is a justsotax says. I am ancient enough to remember when the Employment Tribunals started at Ebury Bridge House. The idea was that an employee would represent him/herself and the panel would make the deicision - usually fairly. You were not expected to be represented and you had to speak up for yourself. I took an employer to court as he wouldn't pay me my holiday pay when I left and won easily. I also successfully helped a colleague against the same unreasonable employer. I wasn't allowed to speak for him so I wrote him a script (and then a further one then and there when they started lying - luckily there was an adjournment for lunch for him and I to discuss matters).
Now it is such big business and totally out of hand and certainly one of the reasons why we gave up our china shop and now trade in a smaller way from home. The partners in a micro business could lose everything they own if their employees see an opening. I have seen it happen more than once over the years with my accountancy clients where they have paid off someone to avoid losing everything when the staff gang up, especially in low grade jobs in shops - a small bakery client springs to mind. Its just not worth it.
Patrick Stevens must have his head permanently buried somewhere. I wonder if he would change his tune if he was faced with Bailiffs taking away his goods because HMRC are inept at keeping records of payment and answering post? Possibly not, he has to keep in with the right people. Shouldn't have put his picture up - one can read a lot from a photograph.
I would like to see more action against people who:
1. Set up a limited company.
2. Remove all the money for themselves (allegedly a dividend, but as nothing is set aside for tax, it cannot be a legal dividend).
3. Get the company struck off without settling the corporation tax bill or possibly even ever filing accounts...........................................
I have seen many many people set up limited company after limited company (often in relatives' names), barely altering the co name and when they have screwed every supplier and customer, take the money and start all over again. If any of my Sole Traders or Partnerships want to go limited they find another adviser as I refuse to handle limited companies.
As for the cheating plumber, HMRC will have seen him many times, insisted on bank accounts going back to the employment cessation, established how many expensive cars, holidays, property etc he has owned in that time and assessed him on that. It is easy to keep below the radar. eg. dont park you vehicle near the place you are working so that a Compliance Officer cannot determine that you are working where all the other subbies are when Reg Nos are being taken to establish that the driver is registered for SA, DVLC is a prime source for finding the cheats provided they have the vehicle registered in their name. Know who you are working for when taking cash. Dont tell anyone about not paying tax, have a moan about how much you pay on a regular basis, put cheques in the bank - no one checks where it comes from if you are in business until HMRC find out you are trading. It is lucky to stay beneath the radar for this long but not impossible.
I celebrate the fact that our lumbering system worked and that he was caught.
we need to get out of this mess and that doesn't include borrowing copious amounts of money from China or wherever and giving it to the IMF. I used to say that we needed more females in the Govt but I was tought to eat my words when Maggie Thatcher let the side down by not knowing when to leave and the present females are abysmal. Surely someone knows how to do a bit of housekeeping because that is all it is. It is time that the government realised that this is not junket time. This lot continually look like rabbits caught in the headlights not knowing where they are going - doesn't inspire confidence.
I believe the dross has been eliminated from, certainly, the Civil Service by previous cutbacks and we are at a crucial point where we can say "do you job or get out" to the remainder across the board and this includes, especially, those at the top who have managed over the years to establish themselves with high salaries and are, as we are in this mess, totally unsuitable in their posts. We should not miss this opportunity.
The idiot Osborne is so deluded that he has, at a stroke, more than probably lost 4.4million votes by attacking the grey vote, and maybe touched the consciences (though I doubt it) of the very high earners by putting more money in their pockets. Seemingly his mates - just part of the junket. Think the "Granny Tax" wont make a difference? Believe me it will, I have personal experience(:-). Prepare for the next Labour Government - now that IS a worry.
This will make a huge difference to bona fide Internet Traders such as ourselves (The China Parade). We come up against traders who are obviously not declaring as their prices are so far below the RRP of goods that they only make a couple of pounds on each transaction and undercut those whose income depends upon internet sales. I suspect a huge amount of these people are on benefits so that makes it a double whammy. It is also a problem for suppliers as it devalues the brand. In fact a lot of them refuse to supply internet traders because of this very problem. Think of all that extra Accounts work for Accountants - it must be one of the biggest sections of the Black Economy.
When I was starting I think I did a mix of everything to get business, except fee buying. My message was "Why waste time with paperwork when you could be making money doing what you do best?" or words to that effect. When I took on an employee (a needy relative) one of the best things we did was to buy a laminator plus shaped coffee coasters to enable us to put our Services and name on one side and a small calendar on the other and the same in A4 and send these out to everyone we could think of and hand them out at meetings etc. People thought we were a huge firm as we were hung on walls/placed on tables all over the town. We kept to our colour scheme so that there was no doubt who we were, it certainly got us noticed and business rolled in and it cost us very little, I networked and got nothing but it was not lost time as years later I picked up work from that previous networking. It is no good sitting at a desk waiting for work to come in - you have to get out amongst it. I think the local business club was about £3 a monthly meeting - now it has morphed into something Official and its about £300 per year. I have never described myself as an Accountant - I run a Small Business Bureau and would do anything that will bring the money in (legally). Secretarial/Bookkeeping/Tax Returns/CIS etc, all that gets you started - I even designed and ran a website for a client. Needs must when the devil drives. I am winding down now so quietly jog along with clients I have had, in the main, since I first started back in 1996.
Looks like yet another scam with public money being misappropriated. It makes me wonder if the correct people handle all this public grant money supplied for schemes like this, are they really up to it? We had a similar occurrence with our local Council a few years ago where a relative of a relative of a relative (we all know the picture) was provided with hundreds of thousands for a similar study on a proposed totally unsuitable building on a seafront car park which, after hundreds of years, suddenly appeared to belong to the Council and not the fishermen. She closed/liquidated the company to ensure that there was no possibility of the money being returned and the land has now been given for free to a Art Gallery which very few of the inhabitants of the town want. Whatever happened to the "arm's length transaction" term?
What difference does it really make whether you are a member of XYZee or not? Surely your own personal integrity should be in operation at all times - or am I being naive?
We had a client whose Scheme was closed by request and who had Penalties for late submission of his P35 issued for the following 4 years, even after Official Complaints were sent each year. At the same time this client had a SA Penalty issued for non submission of his Return; we sent photocopies, then more photocopies only to find that HMRC had given him another UTR and had set him up a second time, of course we were correctly filing under the original reference. Hours of extra work but how can you pass this on to a minute struggling business such as this. The "structure of the law" did not come into this at all - just outright incompetence.
My answers
Irresponsibility
If HMRC went back to the caseworker pattern of working instead of "off the pile" (via a computer) the person responsible could be held to account. As it stands no one cares a flying fish what happens. Lack of responsibility abounds at all levels.
TheAncientOne
Solicitors - Only Winners
It is a justsotax says. I am ancient enough to remember when the Employment Tribunals started at Ebury Bridge House. The idea was that an employee would represent him/herself and the panel would make the deicision - usually fairly. You were not expected to be represented and you had to speak up for yourself. I took an employer to court as he wouldn't pay me my holiday pay when I left and won easily. I also successfully helped a colleague against the same unreasonable employer. I wasn't allowed to speak for him so I wrote him a script (and then a further one then and there when they started lying - luckily there was an adjournment for lunch for him and I to discuss matters).
Now it is such big business and totally out of hand and certainly one of the reasons why we gave up our china shop and now trade in a smaller way from home. The partners in a micro business could lose everything they own if their employees see an opening. I have seen it happen more than once over the years with my accountancy clients where they have paid off someone to avoid losing everything when the staff gang up, especially in low grade jobs in shops - a small bakery client springs to mind. Its just not worth it.
TheAncientOne
Not a clue
Patrick Stevens must have his head permanently buried somewhere. I wonder if he would change his tune if he was faced with Bailiffs taking away his goods because HMRC are inept at keeping records of payment and answering post? Possibly not, he has to keep in with the right people. Shouldn't have put his picture up - one can read a lot from a photograph.
TheAncientOne
Well said taxhound
I would like to see more action against people who:
1. Set up a limited company.
2. Remove all the money for themselves (allegedly a dividend, but as nothing is set aside for tax, it cannot be a legal dividend).
3. Get the company struck off without settling the corporation tax bill or possibly even ever filing accounts...........................................
I have seen many many people set up limited company after limited company (often in relatives' names), barely altering the co name and when they have screwed every supplier and customer, take the money and start all over again. If any of my Sole Traders or Partnerships want to go limited they find another adviser as I refuse to handle limited companies.
As for the cheating plumber, HMRC will have seen him many times, insisted on bank accounts going back to the employment cessation, established how many expensive cars, holidays, property etc he has owned in that time and assessed him on that. It is easy to keep below the radar. eg. dont park you vehicle near the place you are working so that a Compliance Officer cannot determine that you are working where all the other subbies are when Reg Nos are being taken to establish that the driver is registered for SA, DVLC is a prime source for finding the cheats provided they have the vehicle registered in their name. Know who you are working for when taking cash. Dont tell anyone about not paying tax, have a moan about how much you pay on a regular basis, put cheques in the bank - no one checks where it comes from if you are in business until HMRC find out you are trading. It is lucky to stay beneath the radar for this long but not impossible.
I celebrate the fact that our lumbering system worked and that he was caught.
TheAncientOne
Wherever the fault lies ...
we need to get out of this mess and that doesn't include borrowing copious amounts of money from China or wherever and giving it to the IMF. I used to say that we needed more females in the Govt but I was tought to eat my words when Maggie Thatcher let the side down by not knowing when to leave and the present females are abysmal. Surely someone knows how to do a bit of housekeeping because that is all it is. It is time that the government realised that this is not junket time. This lot continually look like rabbits caught in the headlights not knowing where they are going - doesn't inspire confidence.
I believe the dross has been eliminated from, certainly, the Civil Service by previous cutbacks and we are at a crucial point where we can say "do you job or get out" to the remainder across the board and this includes, especially, those at the top who have managed over the years to establish themselves with high salaries and are, as we are in this mess, totally unsuitable in their posts. We should not miss this opportunity.
The idiot Osborne is so deluded that he has, at a stroke, more than probably lost 4.4million votes by attacking the grey vote, and maybe touched the consciences (though I doubt it) of the very high earners by putting more money in their pockets. Seemingly his mates - just part of the junket. Think the "Granny Tax" wont make a difference? Believe me it will, I have personal experience(:-). Prepare for the next Labour Government - now that IS a worry.
TheAncientOne
Internet Tax Amnesty
This will make a huge difference to bona fide Internet Traders such as ourselves (The China Parade). We come up against traders who are obviously not declaring as their prices are so far below the RRP of goods that they only make a couple of pounds on each transaction and undercut those whose income depends upon internet sales. I suspect a huge amount of these people are on benefits so that makes it a double whammy. It is also a problem for suppliers as it devalues the brand. In fact a lot of them refuse to supply internet traders because of this very problem. Think of all that extra Accounts work for Accountants - it must be one of the biggest sections of the Black Economy.
TheAncientOne
A Mix of Everything
When I was starting I think I did a mix of everything to get business, except fee buying. My message was "Why waste time with paperwork when you could be making money doing what you do best?" or words to that effect. When I took on an employee (a needy relative) one of the best things we did was to buy a laminator plus shaped coffee coasters to enable us to put our Services and name on one side and a small calendar on the other and the same in A4 and send these out to everyone we could think of and hand them out at meetings etc. People thought we were a huge firm as we were hung on walls/placed on tables all over the town. We kept to our colour scheme so that there was no doubt who we were, it certainly got us noticed and business rolled in and it cost us very little, I networked and got nothing but it was not lost time as years later I picked up work from that previous networking. It is no good sitting at a desk waiting for work to come in - you have to get out amongst it. I think the local business club was about £3 a monthly meeting - now it has morphed into something Official and its about £300 per year. I have never described myself as an Accountant - I run a Small Business Bureau and would do anything that will bring the money in (legally). Secretarial/Bookkeeping/Tax Returns/CIS etc, all that gets you started - I even designed and ran a website for a client. Needs must when the devil drives. I am winding down now so quietly jog along with clients I have had, in the main, since I first started back in 1996.
TheAncientOne
Gravy Trains
Looks like yet another scam with public money being misappropriated. It makes me wonder if the correct people handle all this public grant money supplied for schemes like this, are they really up to it? We had a similar occurrence with our local Council a few years ago where a relative of a relative of a relative (we all know the picture) was provided with hundreds of thousands for a similar study on a proposed totally unsuitable building on a seafront car park which, after hundreds of years, suddenly appeared to belong to the Council and not the fishermen. She closed/liquidated the company to ensure that there was no possibility of the money being returned and the land has now been given for free to a Art Gallery which very few of the inhabitants of the town want. Whatever happened to the "arm's length transaction" term?
TheAncientOne
Confused
What difference does it really make whether you are a member of XYZee or not? Surely your own personal integrity should be in operation at all times - or am I being naive?
TheAncientOne
Nil Returns - Outright incompetence
We had a client whose Scheme was closed by request and who had Penalties for late submission of his P35 issued for the following 4 years, even after Official Complaints were sent each year. At the same time this client had a SA Penalty issued for non submission of his Return; we sent photocopies, then more photocopies only to find that HMRC had given him another UTR and had set him up a second time, of course we were correctly filing under the original reference. Hours of extra work but how can you pass this on to a minute struggling business such as this. The "structure of the law" did not come into this at all - just outright incompetence.