The coverage of George Osborne spending review which is scheduled for 20 October could be in doubt as union leaders today announced dates for a number of strikes in the weeks and months ahead at the BBC. There is no doubt that the proposed action on the day of George Osborne's vital speech has been premeditated and is timed to cause maximum disruption.
A small note on the HM Revenue and Customs website indicates that resources have been "moved" to high priority work in the short to medium term and those looking to submit their self-assessment forms for the 2009/10 tax year may well experience delays of up to eight weeks. Those looking to register for frontline services may well also experience delays in what many believe is part one of a significant cost-cutting exercise by the UK government.
A number of prominent tax experts in the City of London have stepped forward to suggest that UK taxpayers could potentially have overpaid by £7.2 billion over the last 14 years. However, there is concern that even if the estimated figure of £7.2 billion was confirmed, taxpayers may only receive funds overpaid during the last four years. A number of people are now suggesting that the self assessment tax system introduced to the UK in the 1995/96 tax year may be the main reason for the problems we have today.
A meeting in Basel, Switzerland could potentially change the outlook of the worldwide financial arena with news that top central bankers and bank regulators have agreed to rules on capital funding. The 27 financial authorities from around the world agreed that banks must hold 7% of assets in common equity which is a massive increase from the current 2%. This will drastically increase the support funding required for the banking industry and could lead to short-term fundraising exercises such as that launch by Deutsche Bank last week.
As the taxation debacle in the UK continues to grow legs and arms amid signs there may be more issues behind the scenes, a number of prominent experts in the taxation fields are now concerned about the reputation of HM Revenue and Customs. Despite the fact that billions of pounds of taxpayer's money had been invested in various computer systems over the last decade it seems that we are no better off than we were at the start of the millennium. So do we need a reorganisation of HM Revenue and Customs?
HM Revenue and Customs permanent secretary Dave Hartnett has today cause controversy after refusing to apologise on behalf of HM Revenue and Customs in relation to the ongoing taxation debacle. He believes that "tax reconciliation" is a routine measure for the HM Revenue and Customs and sees nothing wrong with the ongoing issue which could see 1.4 million people in the UK expected to pay back £1500 in back taxes.
Social housing and maintenance group Connaught may be dead but there is a flurry of activity amongst the company's competitors looking to grab a number of potentially lucrative contracts with local authorities in the UK. Already we have seen Mears and Morgan Sindall acquire a number of contracts from local authorities who are now desperate to find alternative contractors to carry out maintenance and additional work.
HM Revenue and Customs is today facing fresh allegations regarding tax collection systems with a suggestion that the recently introduced 50p higher rate of income tax is unlikely to be collected in the traditional manner. It is believed that new tax codes required to collect this high rate of tax from those affected have not been created and those who should be paying a higher rate of tax are likely to receive tax demands in the future.
The UK government has today admitted it may take four years to balance the UK's public finances amid concerns that the authorities have plans for further budget cuts. Despite the fact that many departments will be asked to cut their budgets by 25% this may only equate to 6% per year for the next four years.
HM Revenue and Customs is in the headlines for all the wrong reasons at the moment with billions of pounds outstanding due to technical problems with historic tax data although if forecast budget cuts of up to 25% are confirmed by the government then the situation could get much worse.
