Taxman two months late on cyber-crimefighters deadline HMRC has missed a key deadline to create teams of cyber crime investigators and launch initiatives to counter the increased threat of web attacks on the authority's systems and customers. In its structural reform plan progress report (PDF) for December, HMRC says work on the project should have been completed by November 2011 …
They get rid of half the staff in year after year, round after round of 'efficiency savings' and then wonder why nothing works. Turns out all those thousands of people that used to work for the HMRC up and down the country weren't standing around doing nothing in the first place. Looks like the Government was lying to us about how it could make savings without effecting front line services. Who knew?
They've got as much chance of getting this to work as the proverbial (see above).
Central Government is absolutely hopeless at IT as it doesn't understand the concepts nor does grade IT professionals appropriately to either attract or keep the good ones it's trained.
(see GCHQ).
The sooner Whitehall organises a central IT profession, with meaningful grading, promotion and salary as it does with Economists, Statisticians and others - the more chance it has of ever doing things like this.
In the meantime it will still get a kicking from all the select committees and the press as well as making pigs ears of most large IT projects and reward very large IT providers for a lacklustre service.
They seem vindicated in asking for half of next year's up front even though I haven't earned it yet, and may not. Basically, an interest-free loan from me -- and if I don't earn it they'll pay it back a year later, sans interest.
The effrontery.
Mind you, you *can* get your account zero rated -- but if you *do* end up earning more than you project, they penalise you with interest and other demands for money.
Tax regime in this country needs a complete overhaul. Its totally toxic.
Aha - you'll be looking for this in the first instance then: http://bit.ly/A99PDJ which has been specifically written for individuals to respond to, not just the usual crowd of professional bodies and big accountancy firms. Please respond to it; they do publish a summary responses and (sometimes) even act on them.
Modernising the administration of the personal tax system
Issue date of consultation: 14 November 2011
Date of response: 24 February 2012
The Government wants to hear views on how increased transparency and accessibility to tax information can build greater awareness and understanding of how the system works and how individuals can take a more active role in ensuring they pay the right tax. "
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