Does HMRC’s left hand know what the right hand is doing?
Over recent weeks HMRC have lost a number of First Tier Tax Tribunal appeals due to their procedural ineptitude, and just when they thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did!
Walkers’ Baggage Transfer Company Ltd provided transport for the luggage of holidaymakers exploring, on foot, Hadrian’s Wall and its near vicinity. It employs several drivers for this very purpose. HMRC asserted that the company had not accounted for PAYE properly for one of its drivers, Roger Thurstan, for the three years ended 5th April 2013. The company argued differently and were ready to wheel out Mr. Thurstan as a witness during the hearing proceedings.
The company had produced documentation in support of their employee’s Witness Statement. In particular, a letter from HMRC dated 9th January 2015 to Mr. Thurstan that stated:
“I believe that your employer operated PAYE correctly using the information they had at the time. This means I will not be asking your employer to pay the £727.80 tax due.”
There was an obvious conflict between the contents of this letter and the stance taken by HMRC, so the judge briefly adjourned the hearing to enable HMRC’s Presenting Officer to consider the implications of the correspondence. Almost immediately, HMRC conceded.
HMRC should take a serious look at themselves after this utter farce. The matter should never have been allowed to have gone as far as Tribunal for a number of reasons. Firstly and most obviously, the letter dated 9th January 2015 condemned the Revenue and they were doomed to failure from the outset. Secondly, the tax at stake was a relative insignificant amount and it probably cost the department, and us as taxpayers, more to settle the appeal at Tribunal.
I wonder how much it cost us (TAXPAYERS) to fund this recovery of £727.80. Anyone going to do a FOI request on it? If that can be done. About time the little man was respected and given the same treatment as Starbucks, Amazon etc.