HMRC Is Shite

93-Year-Old Royal Navy Veteran Harassed by HMRC

2026-06-12T13:11:16.635+01:00

93-Year-Old Terminally Ill Royal Navy Veteran Harassed by HMRC Over a Return He’s Already Filed – This is Utterly Disgraceful

Greetings, you decent, hard working folk who’ve paid your dues all your lives and just want to be left in peace. If you thought HMRC had scraped the bottom of the barrel with their cruelty, they’ve just gone and smashed right through it.

A 93-year-old widower, a proud Royal Navy veteran, and now terminally ill, has written to the Telegraph in despair. He is being relentlessly harassed by HMRC for a Self Assessment tax return he already completed and submitted.

After filing his 2024-25 return in May 2025, he received a letter claiming he hadn’t submitted one for the 2023-24 tax year. He complained, provided proof, and thought that was the end of it. It wasn’t. The threatening letters keep coming. The stress is giving this dying old man sleepless nights in what should be his final, peaceful months.

This isn’t a one-off admin glitch. This is systemic incompetence combined with institutional heartlessness. A man who served his country in the Royal Navy during some of the most dangerous periods of the 20th century is now being tormented by pen-pushers in Newcastle who can’t even keep track of a simple tax return they’ve already received.

Meanwhile, the same department:

Spends £186 million trying to recover just £44 million on the Loan Charge
Hangs up the phones on Self Assessment deadline day
Forces quarterly MTD reporting on struggling self-employed people
Blows £175 million on flashy AI systems while the basics remain a total shambles

But sure, let’s terrorise a 93-year-old terminally ill veteran who owes them nothing.

This story should make every single person in Britain furious. We expect our tax authority to be efficient and firm when needed. We do not expect them to behave like bullying bailiffs toward elderly, dying heroes who’ve already done everything asked of them.

The sheer lack of basic humanity here is staggering. A man facing the end of his life should not be losing sleep because some incompetent jobsworth at HMRC can’t find a return on their broken system.

Tax does have to be taxing.

But hounding a 93-year-old terminally ill Royal Navy veteran who’s already filed his return? That’s not taxing — that’s cruel, callous, and utterly contemptible.

HMRC should be ashamed of themselves. And heads should roll.

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Calls Top Tax Barrister ‘Mr Bridger’ in Italian Job Jibe

2026-06-08T17:03:26.715+01:00

HMRC Calls Top Tax Barrister ‘Mr Bridger’ in Italian Job Jibe – Unprofessional Clowns Exposed in Court

Hello, you long-suffering taxpayers still waiting on hold, getting chased for trivial bills, or drowning in quarterly MTD bollocks. While HMRC demands absolute perfection from the rest of us — or else automatic penalties and points — it turns out their own staff are behaving like giggling schoolboys in the middle of serious tax litigation.

In open court, it has emerged that HMRC officials were referring to a leading tax barrister as “Mr Bridger” — a snide little reference to the flamboyant, upper-class character played by Noël Coward in the 1969 classic The Italian Job. You know, the posh criminal mastermind with the dodgy schemes. How very professional.

This wasn’t some private WhatsApp between mates. It came out in courtroom exchanges, revealing that senior HMRC people had been using childish, mocking nicknames for top tax counsel. The barrister in question is one of the most respected in the country, regularly going toe-to-toe with the taxman on complex avoidance, evasion, and compliance cases. And HMRC’s response? Treat him like a figure of fun.

Let’s be crystal clear: these are the same people who will hammer you with £100 fines for filing a day late, pursue pensioners for £47 underpayments, and expect grovelling compliance while they can’t answer their own phones. But when facing proper legal opposition, they resort to playground insults and unprofessional nicknames.

This isn’t just embarrassing — it’s symptomatic of a deep-seated culture of arrogance and contempt at HMRC. They demand respect and instant obedience from the public while showing none themselves. They lose £186m trying to recover £44m on the Loan Charge, cock up pension tax calculations left right and centre, and then act like petulant children when challenged by someone who actually knows the law.

The judge wasn’t impressed either, with references to the behaviour being “unprofessional”. No surprise there.

This is the same department that’s hiring 1,000 valuation officers for the mansion tax raid, forcing AI surveillance on us for £175m, and rolling out quarterly digital reporting while their own service remains an absolute disgrace.

Tax does have to be taxing.
But when HMRC staff are using Italian Job nicknames to mock top barristers in official tax disputes, while treating ordinary taxpayers like criminals? That’s not taxing — that’s arrogant, juvenile, and completely out of control.

Sort yourselves out, you shower.

Amazon “HMRC Unprofessional Behaviour Survival Kit” Suggestions
(affiliate links – because you’ll need these after dealing with these clowns)

“Mr Bridger” DVD (The Italian Job) – for when you need a proper laugh at their expense
“Unprofessional” Mug – fill it with something strong
Noise-Cancelling Headphones – drown out their hold music and their nonsense
Heavy-Duty Shredder – perfect for their next threatening letter
Stress Ball – squeeze it while imagining HMRC’s top brass

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC's Nice Little Video - Feel Free To Express Your Views!

2026-06-04T12:03:07.846+01:00

What are the three things the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, @Dan4Barnet, wants you to know about us? 🤔

First up is how we’re making it easier than ever to get the help and support with your tax affairs.

From the HMRC app to improved online services, we’re focused on… pic.twitter.com/Pe6hpKznuc
— HM Revenue & Customs (@HMRCgovuk) June 4, 2026

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC's "Nice Pub Tax"

2026-06-01T12:23:35.637+01:00

HMRC's "Nice Pub Tax": Punishing the Best Pubs for Having a Nice View and a Decent Garden – Absolute Madness

Morning, you thirsty taxpayers and pub lovers. Just when you thought Rachel Reeves and HMRC couldn’t get any more spiteful, they’ve come up with the "Nice Pub Tax" – a brand new way to hammer the very pubs that are actually doing well, investing in their business, and giving the rest of us somewhere decent to have a pint.

Under fresh guidance issued for the 2026 business rates revaluation, HMRC’s valuation officers have been told to crank up the rateable value (and therefore the business rates bill) on pubs that dare to be in “attractive locations”, have a river frontage, a nice view, character properties, big beer gardens, playgrounds, car parks, or serve premium-priced food. In other words: if your pub isn’t a rundown dive in a grim backstreet, you’re getting punished for it.

The Tories have rightly christened it the “Nice Pub Tax”, and they’re spot on. Instead of helping the struggling British pub industry (which has lost hundreds of boozers already this year), Labour and their HMRC stormtroopers have decided to reward failure and penalise success. A proper country inn with a scenic garden that pulls in families at weekends? Slap it with a bigger bill. A characterful old coaching house by the river? Tax it harder. A gastro pub that’s actually invested in decent grub? Make ’em pay for their ambition.

This is spiteful, backwards, and economically illiterate. Pubs in nice locations already face higher rents and running costs. Now HMRC wants to add even more pain through inflated business rates. It’s the same class-war envy we’ve seen with the mansion tax coming down the track – if it’s nice, aspirational, or successful, Reeves and her cronies want their cut.

Meanwhile, the same department can’t answer the phone, takes years to process refunds, spends £186m to recover £44m on the Loan Charge, and is forcing self-employed people into quarterly MTD reporting hell. But sure, let’s prioritise sending valuation officers out to measure how nice the view is from the beer garden.

Tax does have to be taxing.

But deliberately hammering the best pubs in Britain because they’re in attractive spots with nice gardens and decent facilities? That’s not taxing – that’s economic self-harm dressed up as “fair” revaluation.

Enjoy your pint while you still can, folks. Because at this rate, the only pubs left standing will be the grotty ones that nobody wants to drink in anyway.

Amazon "Nice Pub Tax Survival Kit" Suggestions
(affiliate links – because drowning your sorrows is now more expensive)

Pint Glass Set – for drinking at home when the local nice pub closes
"Save Our Pubs" Bar Mat – subtle protest accessory
Noise-Cancelling Headphones – to block out Reeves’ nonsense
Heavy-Duty Shredder – for the latest business rates bill
Proper Real Ale Selection – support the industry while you still can

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Vape Shops Galore are Licensed Visa Sponsors

2026-05-29T11:48:58.521+01:00

🇬🇧 There are 79 vape shops on the Home Office’s public register of licensed visa sponsors.

‘Guardian Vapes Ltd’ in South Shields is licensed to sponsor overseas workers via the ‘Skilled Worker Visa’ route. 🧵1/3 pic.twitter.com/7BDL047ZjE
— The Procurement Files (@procurementfile) May 28, 2026

Here is the government link to the full list.

Does this not possibly represent an AML flag?

Maybe someone in HMRC should be taking a look at this?

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Blows £175m on Fancy AI Toy from Quantexa

2026-05-27T11:16:35.758+01:00

HMRC Blows £175m on Fancy AI Toy from Quantexa – Because Nothing Says “We’ve Fixed Customer Service” Like Another Expensive Tech Fantasy

Morning, you long-suffering taxpayers still stuck on hold for an hour, waiting two years for a refund, or filling in quarterly MTD returns while HMRC’s own staff take half a million sick days.

In their latest act of breathtaking delusion, HM Revenue and Customs has just signed a 10-year, £175 million deal with British tech firm Quantexa. That’s £17.5 million a year of your money going on some AI-powered wizardry that’s supposedly going to magically transform the taxman from a national embarrassment into a sleek, efficient machine.

Quantexa’s system will hoover up HMRC’s data, mix it with external sources, and then – allegedly – help spot fraud, hidden company networks, and even “fix unintentional errors” faster. It’ll also supposedly assist customer service staff. Yes, the same customer service that’s been in freefall for years.

Let me translate the corporate bollocks into plain English:

HMRC admits their performance is so dire that public dissatisfaction is rising, so instead of fixing the basics — answering the bloody phone, processing refunds in less than 18 months, or stopping phantom £2.8 billion demands to corner shops — they’ve decided to throw £175 million at an AI system.

This is classic HMRC behaviour. Their IT track record is legendary for all the wrong reasons (remember Fujitsu? Horizon? The endless MTD delays?). Now they’re banking on AI to do what competent management and proper staffing have failed to do for over a decade.

Here’s what this shiny new toy will actually be brilliant at:

Finding more ways to hammer small businesses and self-employed people for minor errors
Spotting “suspicious” expense claims from sole traders earning £60k
Building even bigger databases on every one of us
Generating more automated penalty points

And here’s what it almost certainly won’t fix:

The hour-long hold music torture
Two-year refund delays
Deadline day phone hang-ups
Pension tax calculation cock-ups
Trivial £47 demands to pensioners

£175 million. That’s enough to answer the phones properly for years. Enough to sort the backlog. Enough to give decent service to the people who actually pay their wages. Instead, it’s going on another grand “digital transformation” project that will probably end up costing double and delivering half while some consultants laugh all the way to the bank.

This is what happens when a failing organisation refuses to admit the problem is management, culture, and accountability — not lack of fancy tech.

Tax does have to be taxing.
But when HMRC spends £175 million on AI to “improve performance” while the basics remain an absolute disgrace, it’s not taxing — it’s institutional denial on an industrial scale.

Well done, JP Marks and the rest of the gang. Another shiny toy to play with while the public seethes.

Amazon “HMRC AI Overlords Survival Kit” Suggestions
(affiliate links – because you’ll need these while the robots come for your records)

Tinfoil Hat – protect yourself from the all-seeing AI
“Another £175m Down the Drain” Mug – morning tea essential
Noise-Cancelling Headphones – for the inevitable longer hold times
Heavy-Duty Shredder – in case the AI gets too nosey
Strong Whisky – medicinal, after reading your next tax calculation

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Working From Home

2026-05-26T10:58:23.823+01:00

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Rules That Deployment of a Reservist To Ukraine Constituted a "Break"

2026-05-25T10:39:31.210+01:00

Excl: An Army reservist who served on a Ukraine mission was denied paternity pay after HMRC ruled his deployment counted as a “break” from work.

The soldier returned home, went back to work and became a dad weeks later - only to be told he wasn’t entitled to a penny.…
— Martina Bet (@martinabettt) May 25, 2026

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Rachel's Summertime Specials

2026-05-22T11:27:38.974+01:00

Now that Rachel is dishing out VAT discounts on kids' meals, I assume a task force will be set up in HMRC to produce reams of documents analysing exactly what a kid's meal is?

Good luck with that then!

Oh, and although Rachel trumpeted this, she hasn't been so vocal about plans to whack 20% on various airport charges over the summertime!

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

FACTOID Re The BMW FOI

2026-05-18T17:04:23.561+01:00

I know the name of the person who raised the BMW FOI and followed up on it, let me be 100% clear it was not whoever it is going under the moniker "Exposing The Corrupt".

Thank you for your attention in this matter.

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

People Smuggling Under The Very Noses of HMRC

2026-05-18T11:01:13.277+01:00

This report from the BBC (see extract below) highlights large cash payments being made in highstreet shops for smuggling illegals into the UK, these payments are meant to be picked up by HMRC as part of their AML monitoring procedures.

HMRC supervises many "high-risk" businesses for AML compliance, including money service businesses (MSBs), informal value transfer systems (like hawala-style operations), high-cash businesses (car washes, phone shops, wholesalers), and others. These are exactly the types of entities named in the BBC report.

Wake up guys!

People smugglers are directing migrants to pay for illegal Channel crossings using a network of UK-registered businesses, a BBC investigation has found.

We secretly filmed staff at a shop in south-east London telling an undercover researcher that nearly £3,000 in cash could be deposited with them and sent to a smuggler in France.

"You put your money here. If your friends reach [the UK], you shouldn't come back," we were told at the mobile phone store in Woolwich.

Our three-month investigation gives insight into how smugglers appear to be using UK companies' bank accounts to facilitate small-boat crossings - something a leading expert in criminal finance told us he had not seen before.

Our findings suggest a "brazen attitude" by smugglers, says Tom Keatinge, from the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) security think tank.

"It is a concern that... people feel sufficiently confident they can be out in the open."

As well as the phone shop, the smuggler in France provided the bank account details of two UK-registered companies, which he said could both take electronic transfers for migrant crossings.

One is a wholesale business in Newcastle upon Tyne, the other is a car wash in Cambridgeshire.

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

The Oncoming Pension Clusterfuck

2026-05-16T12:17:50.751+01:00

HMRC issues inheritance tax update ahead of 'nightmare' raid on pension savingshttps://t.co/dkyzsyzH6x
— GB News (@GBNEWS) May 16, 2026

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Rayner's VIP Hotline

2026-05-15T12:26:38.743+01:00

Whilst Rayner made full use of a VIP hotline (for royalty and high rankers) to expedite her tax cock up, the rest of use have to put up with this shit:

After 39 minutes on hold I have got through to HMRC to talk about erroneous interest charge on my self assesement. I can hear a baby in the background. After she spent 22 mins investigating, I was advised to write in as she couldn't help.
This is simply not good enough.
— Paul Hawkins (@Hawkeye_74) May 14, 2026

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Rayner Exonerated by HMRC in 7 Months!

2026-05-14T11:29:53.849+01:00

On 1 April I stated:

"Figures from HMRC show that in the last four years the average length of time that Stamp Duty Land tax (SDLT) investigations have taken to complete is an average of 35 months. Rayner admitted she may have paid the wrong tax on 5 September last year, only seven months ago…"

This morning, Pippa Crerar (a political activist posing as a Guardian journalist) broke the news that Rayner has paid the £40K tax due and has been exonerated by HMRC of any wrong doing and was not "careless".

Tax experts, eg Dan Neidle, are having trouble believing this.

Disregarding whether she was "careless" or not, I am having serious trouble believing that a case that would normally take HMRC 35 months to investigate, has been sorted out in 7 months.

Ordinary taxpayers would not receive such swift service!

Please can someone in HMRC explain how it is that Rayner (on the very day there may be a leadership challenge) has received clearance from HMRC so quickly?

BTW, Rayner has been able to find this £40K because she has just been paid £50K by a newly formed company Refrigeration House Ltd for "staff costs".

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC's Latest Pension Tax Cock-Up

2026-05-13T13:20:58.778+01:00

HMRC's Latest Pension Tax Cock-Up: They’ve Been Overcharging Pensioners – And Now You’re Expected to Fix Their Shambles

Morning, you long-suffering pensioners and semi-retired warriors who dared to think that after a lifetime of paying tax, HMRC might finally leave you in peace. Think again.

A sharp-eyed investigator has uncovered yet another system error at HMRC that means thousands of pensioners have been overcharged on their state pension tax. The cock-up revolves around how the taxman calculates your taxable pension income when the state pension rises mid-year (thanks to the triple lock).

According to HMRC’s own daft guidance, they’ve been taxing people on the wrong split – one week at the old rate and 51 weeks at the new rate – instead of properly apportioning it across the year. The result? Pensioners paying too much tax, sometimes by thousands of pounds each. And these are the same clowns who demand you get your self-assessment perfect first time or face automatic penalties.

This isn’t some minor glitch. HMRC has already been forced to repay tens of millions in overpaid pension tax in recent quarters alone, with average refunds topping £3,000 in some cases. Yet here we are again, with another error quietly exposed that could be costing you hundreds or thousands extra.

Why This Matters to You

If you receive the state pension and file a Self Assessment (even if only because of small private work, rental income, or other bits), check your latest return.
The error hits hardest when the pension increased during the tax year.
Many pensioners who thought their tax was sorted via PAYE are discovering they’ve been overtaxed when they file SA.

HMRC, of course, won’t be proactively contacting everyone affected. That would require competence. Instead, they expect you – the pensioner who’s already confused by their Byzantine system – to go digging through your returns, spot their mistake, and claim back what’s rightfully yours.

This is the same organisation that:

Spends £186m to recover £44m on the Loan Charge
Hangs up on deadline day
Hires 1,000 valuation officers for the mansion tax raid
Can’t answer the phone without putting you through an hour of torture

…yet somehow can’t get basic pension tax calculations right.

What You Should Do Right Now

Dig out your most recent Self Assessment return (or the tax calculation notice HMRC sent you).
Compare the state pension figure they used against what you actually received.
If it looks wrong, contact HMRC (good luck with that) or use the proper overpayment claim route (P53Z or whatever their latest form is this week).
Keep records – six years, as usual, because they sure as hell won’t.

Tax does have to be taxing.

But when HMRC can’t even calculate the tax on the state pension correctly, then expects you to fix their mess while they overcharge thousands of pensioners? That’s not taxing – that’s institutional robbery dressed up as administration.

Sort it out, check your returns, and reclaim what these clowns have stolen from you. Because if you don’t, they’ll happily keep it.

Amazon "Pensioner Tax Fight Survival Kit" Suggestions
(affiliate links – because you’ll need fuel for this battle)

Large Print Calculator – for checking HMRC’s dodgy maths
"HMRC Overcharged Me Again" Mug – perfect for your morning tea of righteous anger
Noise-Cancelling Headphones – for when you finally get through on the helpline
Heavy-Duty Shredder – therapeutic use only on their letters
Bottle of Something Strong – medicinal purposes after dealing with their incompetence

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Rayner's Desperate Attempts To Publicly Pay Her Tax Bill

2026-05-11T12:35:00.004+01:00

It seems that Angela Rayner’s team ‘constantly’ contacted HMRC in the weeks before local elections, to settle her £40k stamp duty bill; if "sources" to the media are to be believed.

The calls were made in an attempt to resolve the outstanding £40,000 stamp duty she owes on her Hove flat.

Sources (hers by any chance?0 say her team reached out “constantly” during that period. An interesting approach, given that people can volunteer to pay HMRC tax anytime they want to.

Timing, and publicising these "constant" attempts, is everything!

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Jacob Rees-Mogg Opines on Working From Home and HMRC

2026-05-10T10:58:00.003+01:00

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC's 4,000 Drive-By Logins

2026-05-07T11:31:00.003+01:00

The Telegraph reports that civil servants (including HMRC) have been faking their attendance at the office.

Some staff, including at HMRC, are alleged to have faked in-person working by connecting to their office Wi-Fi from a nearby car park before returning home.

The phenomenon has become so commonplace that senior managers at the tax office dub it a “drive-by login”.

Just under 4,000 HMRC staff haven't been in the office at all for over 6 months. Just under 1,000 haven't been in for over a YEAR.

An HMRC official told of how office working had collapsed during the Covid-19 pandemic and has not recovered since.

He said “a lot of bad habits” were formed during Covid, adding: “You can go years at a time without seeing certain colleagues.”

Analysis of working patterns at HMRC revealed that 3,195 of its workers had not been in an office for between six and 11 months, with 992 not attending for a year to 23 months. There were 182 workers who did not go to work in-person for two years or more.

HMRC said some of the absences were caused by sickness leave or an adjustment to working patterns for staff with disabilities. The department employs more than 70,500 people.

HMRC has also been accused of allowing customer service levels to collapse. Last year, a report by MPs found that almost 44,000 taxpayers were cut off after being on hold for over an hour with HMRC call handlers.

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC's £186m Masterclass in Incompetence

2026-04-23T16:12:00.005+01:00

HMRC's £186m Masterclass in Incompetence: They Spent a Fortune to Claw Back Just £44m on the Loan Charge – Absolute Shambles

Morning, you hard-pressed taxpayers still waiting years for a refund, getting hung up on deadline day, or being chased for trivial £50 bills while HMRC's own staff rack up half a million sick days. Here's a story that sums up everything wrong with the taxman in one jaw-dropping number.

Fresh figures reveal that HMRC has blown £186 million of your money over six years trying to enforce the controversial Loan Charge on disguised remuneration schemes. And what have they actually recovered from individual settlements? A pathetic £44 million.

That's right – they spent £186m to get back £44m. For every pound recovered from those 800 individuals who settled, they burned over £4.22. Even if you take their broader claim of £250m in total settlements (including employers), it's still a catastrophic return on investment. Annual compliance costs have hit £31 million in recent years. This isn't enforcement; it's a black hole with better PR.

The Loan Charge was meant to hammer people who used "disguised pay" schemes – where contractors and others were paid via loans that never got repaid, dodging income tax and NI. Fair enough in principle if it was pure avoidance. But the way HMRC and the government handled it has been a textbook case of retrospective overreach, ruining lives, driving some to suicide, and now proving to be an expensive, inefficient disaster.

MPs and campaigners are calling it a "profound failure". No wonder. While HMRC was pouring millions into this crackdown, they couldn't answer phones, process refunds, or stop issuing phantom £2.8 billion demands to small businesses. They let their own compliance officer launder £3.3m and walk with a suspended sentence, but ordinary folk caught in these schemes got the full weight of retrospective legislation and aggressive pursuit.

And don't forget the human cost – families destroyed, bankruptcies, mental health crises – all while the taxman racks up costs that could have funded proper helplines or actual customer service instead of this botched vendetta.

This is peak HMRC: incompetent, wasteful, and utterly contemptuous of value for money. They demand perfection and instant compliance from us (with penalty points and automatic fines), yet when they go after a target, they manage to lose money hand over fist. £186m spent to recover £44m? That's not closing the tax gap – that's widening the incompetence gap to Olympic proportions.

Rachel Reeves and her mandarins love lecturing about "fairness" and "closing loopholes", but when their own enforcement machine turns into the world's most expensive paper-shredder, the only people getting fairly screwed are the long-suffering British taxpayer.

Tax does have to be taxing.
But when HMRC spends £186 million to claw back £44 million while the rest of us drown in red tape and MTD quarterly reporting hell? That's not taxing – that's institutional theft and breathtaking incompetence on a grand scale.

Amazon "HMRC Waste Survival Kit" Suggestions
(affiliate links – because watching them burn your money deserves a stiff drink)

Giant Calculator – to work out how much they're wasting this week
"£186m Down the Drain" Mug – fill with something stronger than tea
Industrial Shredder – ironic tribute to their efficiency
Stress Ball (Taxman Shape) – squeeze until the next scandal breaks
"Value for Money?" T-shirt – wear it to your next tribunal

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

BMW FOI Update Internal Review

2026-04-17T16:46:00.004+01:00

My thanks to the loyal reader who has forwarded this response from HMRC wrt the internal review about the FOI re BMWs.

Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)

Thank you for your email of 30 January, which seeks a review of our original response to
your information request.

Original request

On 22 December 2025, you asked for the following information:

“Are mobile Field Force officers in HMRC (those who visit taxpayers) allocated their own
personal vehicles by the department;
If so, what make are these vehicles ( for example, are they BMWi3s);
If so, where are these vehicles typically kept, and are the Field Force officers allowed to use
them for private purposes;
If Field Force officers are not allocated their own vehicles which vehicles do they use, eg
their own car, pool cars, hire cars.”

Our response
We replied on 23 January 2026, saying:

Certain mobile field officers are provided with vehicles through an approved car scheme.

Others may use their own vehicles for official duties, provided they have appropriate business-use insurance, and can then claim standard HMRC business-mileage reimbursement. Officers may also hire vehicles through an approved hire provider when required.

A range of vehicle makes are currently in use, with field officers using models from 12 different manufacturers.

You also asked where allocated vehicles are normally kept, whether officers may use them privately, and what makes or models are used. This information relates directly to the storage and operational deployment of vehicles used in HMRC compliance work.

Officers use vehicles according to the criteria stipulated. HMRC operates from multiple sites, the exact locations of which are not public. Information about where vehicles are kept and the vehicle types used forms part of HMRC’s operational approach to enforcement, including activity targeting individuals and organised criminal groups.

For these reasons, we are refusing this part of your request under sections 31(1)(a) and 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act.
Section 31
Section 31(1)(a) states:
“(1) Information which is not exempt information by virtue of section 30 is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice— (a) the prevention or detection of crime,”

Releasing information about where HMRC field vehicles are kept, or the types of vehicles used, would reveal operational patterns and potential deployment points for officers engaged in compliance activity. Criminal groups actively seek intelligence on HMRC’s presence, routines, and vulnerabilities.

Access to this information could allow individuals to:
• monitor HMRC officers’ movements
• identify periods when officers may be vulnerable
• interfere with, damage or disable vehicles used in live investigations
• anticipate or evade HMRC visits
Disclosure would therefore be likely to undermine HMRC’s ability to prevent and detect crime and would compromise planned enforcement activity. Section 31(1)(a) is therefore engaged for the second and third parts of your request.
Section 38
Section 38(1)(b) states:
“(1) Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to—
_ (b) endanger the safety of any individual.”

Field Force officers work in environments where confrontation, intimidation and threats are known risks. Revealing where vehicles are stored, how they are typically used, or what vehicle types are deployed could allow individuals to identify officer locations, routines, or movements. This creates a foreseeable risk that officers could be targeted, harassed, or harmed.

Disclosure could also allow inferences to be drawn about the presence or identity of individual officers, further increasing personal risk. Section 38(1)(b) is therefore engaged for questions 2 and 3 of your request.

Public interest test

These exemptions are qualified, so HMRC must consider whether the public interest in disclosure outweighs the public interest in maintaining the exemptions.

There is a clear public interest in transparency, particularly in how public funds are used and how government departments operate.

However, this must be balanced against the strong public interest in ensuring that:
• HMRC can conduct effective compliance and enforcement work
• criminal activity is not inadvertently enabled
• officers can perform their duties without the risk of interference, intimidation or harm
• operational methods remain confidential, maintaining confidence in HMRC’s ability to
protect sensitive information

Releasing operationally sensitive details about enforcement vehicles would provide valuable intelligence to those seeking to obstruct or evade HMRC activity. It would also increase the risk of harm to individual officers. These factors carry significant weight.

We therefore conclude that the public interest in withholding this information outweighs the public interest in disclosure. The exemptions at section 31(1)(a) and section 38(1)(b) are upheld.

Internal review request
On 30 January you asked us to review our handling of your request:
“I refer to my above FOI request and your subsequent response.

If I could give some background to my request: an internet website which is set-up purely to criticise HMRC has been posting rumours about official vehicles used by Field Force officers.

Specifically, the claim is that officers have been allocated their own personal high-end luxury vehicles. The vehicles named are BMWs, the i3 model. Also, it is claimed that the officers keep these vehicles at home, and they and their families use them for private purposes in the evening and at weekends. Needless to say this has caused a furore of anti-HMRC sentiment and abuse.

While I accept your arguments regarding operational confidentiality and staff safety any information at all you could give to refute the allegations that your staff are "swanning around" the countryside in luxury cars at the taxpayer's expense would be appreciated. Could you please review your reply accordingly.”

Internal review
The purpose of this review is to assess how your request was handled and to determine whether the original decision given to you was correct.

We received your request on 22 December 2025 and replied by email on 23 January 2026.

This was within the statutory deadline in compliance with section 10(1) of the FOIA.

The response set out our review procedure and your right to complain to the Information Commissioner, as required by section 17(7) of the FOIA.

Considerations

We understand from your email that your request was prompted by comments circulating online suggesting that HMRC Field Force officers are provided with high-end luxury vehicles for their private use. We appreciate the opportunity to clarify our position. FOIA cannot be used to investigate or respond directly to online allegations; however, we can confirm the position as it relates to information we hold.

We have considered your review and looked again at whether our car schemes use BMWs. As part of this internal review, we have re-examined whether the information withheld could now be disclosed without giving rise to the harms previously identified. We have also reassessed the likelihood and severity of those harms considering the clarification provided and the specific concerns you raised.

HMRC does hold information about approved car schemes available to certain mobile field officers. These schemes are governed by specific eligibility rules and terms of use, set out in HMRC’s internal policy and associated scheme documentation. Under these conditions, a small number of BMW vehicles are provided for official duties only.

This clarification does not change the FOIA position. Providing further information about vehicle allocation, locations, or deployment patterns would materially increase the risks identified above.

We have considered the prejudice test as set out in ICO guidance. This requires us to assess whether the prejudice claimed is real, actual or of substance, whether there is a causal link between disclosure and the harm, and whether the likelihood of that harm occurring meets the threshold of “would” or “would be likely to.” Detailed information about the makes, models, storage locations, and deployment of vehicles used in compliance activity remains exempt under sections 31(1)(a) and 38(1)(b).

Disclosure would be likely to prejudice HMRC’s ability to conduct enforcement functions and would increase the risk of harm to officers. This risk is not hypothetical; HMRC is aware of occasions where staff conducting compliance activity have faced hostility or intimidation linked to their perceived role While we recognise the public interest in addressing misinformation, disclosure under FOIA is disclosure to the world at large. Once released, the information could not be controlled or limited to rebutting specific claims, and this significantly increases the weight of the public interest in maintaining the exemptions.

If you have concerns about potential misuse of HMRC vehicles, these should be reported through the appropriate route for alleged misconduct by HMRC staff, which is separate from the FOIA process.

Conclusion
Having completed this internal review, we are satisfied that HMRC has complied with the FOIA. We remain satisfied that the information was appropriately withheld under sections 31(1)(a) and 38(1)(b). On balance, we consider that the public interest favours maintaining the exemptions and the original response is upheld.

Appeal process
If you are not content with the outcome of this internal review you can complain to the
Information Commissioner’s Office.

Yours sincerely,
HM Revenue and Customs

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The End of Income Tax?

2026-04-16T15:21:00.003+01:00

As per The Telegraph:

"Artificial intelligence will make income tax redundant within five years, according to the founder of digital bank Monzo.
Former chief executive Tom Blomfield warned that advances in AI could trigger a major jobs crisis, with automation increasingly replacing roles across a wide range of industries.
Speaking on an episode of The Rest is Money podcast, he said that as traditional employment declines, the current system of income tax – largely dependent on wages – would no longer be sustainable.
He suggested it could instead be replaced by a tax on the resources used to build and run AI.
He said: “I don’t think we’ll tax human labour, we’ll tax compute, [meaning systems like] data centres, and then we will use the proceeds to pay for government.”

Personally speaking I would be delighted to see an end to income tax. However, we all know that will never happen. Instead, governments will simply use ai to find more ways of taxing us; eg on the megabytes we use!

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

The BMW FOI Update

2026-04-10T11:17:00.002+01:00

My thanks to the loyal reader who sent me an update on the BMW FOI request:

"Dear Sir/Madam,
On 30 January I requested an internal review of your reply to my FOI ref ***. You acknowledged receipt on 2 February.

On 3 March I asked for an update of your review. On 4 March you replied that the review was still active and that I would receive a response "shortly".

On 27 March I asked again for an update, pointing out that it was 40 working days since my initial review request. I have not as yet had a reply to this email.

As you will appreciate I have no desire to involve the IOC in this matter so could you please let me know when your internal review is likely to be completed.

Thank you for your assistance.

Yours sincerely.."

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

April Tax Grab 2026: Reeves and HMRC's Latest Stealth Raid

2026-04-08T12:09:00.002+01:00

April Tax Grab 2026: Reeves and HMRC's Latest Stealth Raid – More Pain for You, Zero Relief for Petrol or Stamp Duty

Morning, you long-suffering mugs grinding away while Rachel Reeves bangs on about “working people” and HMRC pretends it’s “modernising” the system. It’s April 2026 – new tax year, same old story: frozen thresholds, sneaky little rises, and yet another layer of bureaucratic bollocks designed to squeeze every last penny without admitting they’re hiking taxes.

Here’s the full list of what’s actually going up from April 2026 (or hitting you via stealth). I’ve stuck to the hard facts, no spin.

Personal Tax Increases Hitting Individuals

Dividend tax rates ↑ by 2 percentage points
Basic rate: 8.75% → 10.75%
Higher rate: 33.75% → 35.75%
(Additional rate stays at 39.35%. First £500 still tax-free, but everything above gets hammered harder.)
Council tax ↑ average 4.9% across England
Band D household: up £111 to £2,392 a year.
Wales ~4.9%, Scotland 4–10% depending on council. Still the most regressive tax going – hits the poorest hardest.
Vehicle Excise Duty (road tax) ↑
Standard annual rate for post-1 April 2017 cars: £195 → £200.
(EV “expensive car” supplement threshold rises to £50k – small mercy for posh electric buyers.)
Air Passenger Duty ↑ 13–15% across all bands
Example: long-haul economy £94 → £106. Private jets get an extra 50% whack.
Self-employed Class 2 NICs ↑
Weekly rate: £3.50 → £3.65.
Voluntary Class 3: £17.75 → £18.40.
Capital Gains Tax (BADR / Investors’ Relief) ↑
Rate jumps from 14% → 18% on qualifying business asset disposals.
Inheritance Tax relief caps (APR & BPR)
100% relief now capped at combined £2.5 million per person. Anything above gets only 50% relief (effective 20% IHT hit on the excess).
Income tax & NI thresholds – frozen again until 2031
Personal allowance £12,570, basic rate band £37,700. Pure stealth tax – fiscal drag pulls more of your pay into higher bands as wages creep up.

Petrol & diesel duty? No rise in April. The 5p cut is extended until end of August 2026, and the planned RPI increase for April has been cancelled. Small win – but it’s only delayed pain.

Stamp Duty Land Tax? No change this April. The mansion tax (High Value Council Tax Surcharge) doesn’t kick in until April 2028.

Business / Employer Hits

Employer NI secondary threshold frozen (still £5,000 a year equivalent).
Combined with previous rate rises, this keeps dragging more wage costs onto employers as pay rises.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD ITSA) mandatory from 6 April for sole traders/landlords with £50k+ gross qualifying income.
Quarterly digital updates instead of one annual return = massive extra admin and software costs.
Energy costs for businesses – transmission charges doubling for some, adding ~5% to electricity bills.
Dividend tax rise hits director-shareholders hard (same rates as personal).
Business rates relief continuing to unwind in some sectors (retail, hospitality etc. seeing big jumps in effective bills).

Average Extra Cost Estimates (Rough but Realistic)

For a typical individual/household:

Council tax alone: +£111
Road tax: +£5
Dividend tax (if you take £20k–£50k in dividends): £500–£1,000+ extra depending on your tax band
Frozen thresholds/fiscal drag: £300–£800 a year for many middle earners as more income gets taxed at 40%
Total average hit for a working household with some investments/property: £400–£1,200 extra per year. Pensioners and basic-rate only folk get off lighter but still feel the council tax sting.

For businesses / self-employed:

MTD compliance (software, time, accountant fees): £500–£2,000+ per year for those forced in.
Energy bill rise: £1,000–£5,000+ depending on size.
Employer NI drag + minimum wage uplift (not tax but related cost): thousands for any firm with staff.
Average small business / sole trader: £2,000–£10,000+ extra annual burden depending on turnover, staff, and dividends taken.

This is on top of the employer NI hike from last year, the ongoing threshold freezes, and the looming MTD quarterly reporting nightmare for higher earners.

Tax does have to be taxing.

But when Reeves and HMRC quietly pile on dividend tax, council tax, road tax, and admin burdens while pretending they’re only hitting “the rich”, it’s not taxing – it’s a slow, deliberate mugging of working people and small businesses while the big corporates and civil servants get another nice quiet year.

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HMRC Stamp Duty Investigations Take 35 Months on Average

2026-04-01T13:31:00.004+01:00

As per Guido:

Figures from HMRC show that in the last four years the average length of time that Stamp Duty Land tax (SDLT) investigations have taken to complete is an average of 35 months. Rayner admitted she may have paid the wrong tax on 5 September last year, only seven months ago…

The best yearly performance is a whopping 27 months, posted in the 24/25 financial year:

Tax year	Average length of time of closed cases had taken to complete (SDLT)
2021/22	31 months
2022/23	39 months
2023/24	43 months
2024/25	27 months

Since Rayner’s operation conceded that the investigation would have to be finished before she made any attempt at the Labour leadership, the former DPM’s annoyance at HMRC for taking so long (she ‘offered to help‘ at one point) has made frequent appearances in the press.

Oh dear,

how sad,

never mind!

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Rayner is Contesting Her Stamp Duty Charge

2026-03-28T12:56:00.001+00:00

The Times has been told that she has subsequently taken new legal advice which argues that she did not need to pay the higher rate of stamp duty. The new advice has been submitted to HMRC. It is understood to highlight “complexities” surrounding the trust

Exclusive:

Angela Rayner is contesting claims that she failed to pay enough stamp duty on the purchase of her £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex

The former deputy prime minister and housing secretary quit in September last year after independent legal advice found she had not…
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) March 27, 2026

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