Dave Hartnett to appear before Treasury Select Committee
Dave Hartnett, the permanent secretary of HM Revenue and Customs, is likely to be summoned to appear before the heavyweight House of Commons Treasury Select Committee to explain the ongoing tax debacle in the UK. He will no doubt be questioned about his reluctance to issue an apology over the weekend prior to pressure from the government forcing a U-turn in his comments and a grovelling apology.
The Treasury Select Committee is one of the more powerful committees in the House of Commons and is certain to take a keen interest in the ongoing tax issues. Millions of people in the UK have been affected and there are growing concerns that coincidently the new computer system has flagged many more problems from the past. Whether the UK government will be forced to write off billions of pounds of potentially unpaid taxes, through no fault of those affected, remains to be seen but it is interesting to see that the opposition parties have remained fairly quiet on this issue.
This could not have come at a worse time for the UK government which is struggling to raise finance to support the UK economy and has indeed been forced to slash public-sector spending and increase taxes.
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