Opinion Divided Over Depth Of Inland Revenue's Woes

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

28 January 2003

In a report published on Sunday, the Telegraph painted a picture of disarray and despair at the UK's Inland Revenue department in the run-up to the January 31 deadline. However, this portrayal of the tax agency has subsequently been refuted by one of the article's principle sources.

Citing online security breaches, embarassing revelations, and falling tax revenues as a result of failure to properly investigate non-compliance and tax evasion, Channel Four News' Economics Correspondent, Liam Halligan, writing for the Sunday Telegraph warned that:

'Further tax rises are looming, and to limit the damage to his own reputation, Brown could soon start dishing out blame. As the red ink spreads, aggravated by fears about war and a stagnant corporate sector, the Inland Revenue could soon come into the Treasury's firing line.'

In order to support his point, he quoted former senior Inland Revenue tax inspector, William Heard as observing that: 'Since the mid-90s, non-compliance work has been an unmitigated disaster. These sections are mis-managed, seriously under-funded and morale is low.'

However, responding on Monday to the Telegraph article, Mr Heard alleged that he had been misquoted, and his point regarding the Inland Revenue's performance had been misrepresented.

'I do not ever recall saying to anyone at any time that morale was low in the Inland Revenue neither have I ever used the phrase 'under funded'. I certainly told Liam that I believed the Large Business Employer Compliance section was under resourced (not under funded) but that was it,' the former Revenue official told the Accounting Web news service, continuing:

'If people chose to draw the inference that I believe there has been mismanagement in the Revenue in the past then so be it, but they should confine that view to the people at the top of the Revenue not the inspectors at the sharp end. I have consistently said that they are hard pressed and do a good job within the operating perameters that are imposed on them.'

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