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| CURRENT SECTION :: Money News | UK's most visited IT Contractor Site - 250k unique visitors March 2008 |
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A hotline set up by Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs to let people report tax cheats has become a beacon for revenge pranksters and the aggrieved. Facing questions from a committee of MPs, the Revenue’s acting chairman Dave Hartnett said he was “disappointed by the quality” of calls received between 2006-07. He reportedly told the public accounts committee that 68 of the calls logged came from one woman intent on ousting her husband, none of which led to an investigation. Disclosures of his evidence to the MPs, seen by the BBC, reveal that over the 12-month period, 2,000 investigations were completed from 120,000 calls to the hotline. Although that means the strike rate of the hotline had improved for the year, Mr Hartnett said HMRC only wins a prosecution in two cases out of every 1,000. He reportedly vowed to improve the rate of prosecutions and, we think for the first time , put a number on the size of the “hidden economy” – about 2million. He also identified the likely targets of HMRC; 80% of all evaders were small timers, he said, typically working in low-paid jobs like hairdressers, gardeners and cleaners. But the PAC also heard high earners had been reported, including medical consultants and 57 barristers who were “in the hidden economy at some time not paying any tax.” Despite the premise of the hotline, Mr Hartnett attacked the culture of “snitching,” blaming it for people reporting their spouses, friends and neighbours without concrete evidence. He said: “I am not sure whether snitching is a particular English disease or not but there are undoubtedly callers to our evasion hotline who think that by simply calling the line whatever they say, accurate or inaccurate, they can cause pain to somebody.” Meanwhile, calls to the Revenue’s normal help-lines look set to increase, given the department’s announcement on Wednesday that a further 95 tax offices will close across the UK. The PCS union reacted angrily to the closures, saying the department’s ability to collect revenues and provide tax advice to the public and local businesses would be undermined. Jun 13, 2008 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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