Jobs For The Boys

Dennis Howlett raises a very good question about why is it that the Tax Faculty of the ICAEW, rather than the IT Faculty, are commenting on the recent data loss fiasco by HMRC.

I agree with Dennis, the ICAEW have "missed the mark" on this:

• They should have responded as a body as whole, not allowing an individual faculty to answer



• Their support of a formal independent review, as Dennis rightly points out, begs for yet more tax payers' money to be poured down the ever open gullets of the big four consultancy/accounting firms; producing no real value whatsoever



• The failure of HMRC is down to lax systems and lax attitudes; not costs savings targets, rightly imposed by the Treasury

However, that being said, the most effective cost savings wrt HMRC can only be made when Gordon Brown allows Darling to dramatically simplify the tax system; eg set a single rate of tax, eliminate Inheritance Tax and CGT etc etc.

This is where the ICAEW should be pushing the government, and this is the case that they should be making, not "fannying around" asking for consultants to be hired.

A missed opportunity.