BN66 - Round 2 (Court of Appeal)

[BolshieBastard]

Ok. I've been thinking about this. I was under the impression
that CIVIL SERVANTS were supposed to be impartial. The belief's
of this person should exclude them from dealing with our case.

I have spoken to people who have worked for the Ombudsman's
office and they concur.

This is a step too far.

You are correct. Civil Servants have to be impartial. That is drummed into you when you join. You must not make judgement or decisions based on personal prejudices or preferences.

A civil servant's job is to carry out their Department's work without preconceived notions.

If the person who made that statement is a civil servant, then they have breached the terms of their employment. Even a permanent secretary cannot set such an agenda.

[smalldog]

options

Hmm, Ive got the option to relocate to the US with my current firm. Seriously considering getting out of this god forsaken hole...think I will wait and see the outcome of the election and appeals first tho...as for having contacts with the UK, they are mainly abroad or in Ireland so no need to step foot back in the UK...Be gutted if I do leave as my family have been here for as far back as I can go, but I am not prepared to basically be ripped off for the rest of my life by a tax regime that is skewed too much towards extracting a disproportionate amount of money from those that are successful. To me there is no, oh whats the word again, "fairness" in that approach.

[KiwiGuy]

Hmm, Ive got the option to relocate to the US with my current firm. Seriously considering getting out of this god forsaken hole...think I will wait and see the outcome of the election and appeals first tho...as for having contacts with the UK, they are mainly abroad or in Ireland so no need to step foot back in the UK...Be gutted if I do leave as my family have been here for as far back as I can go, but I am not prepared to basically be ripped off for the rest of my life by a tax regime that is skewed too much towards extracting a disproportionate amount of money from those that are successful. To me there is no, oh whats the word again, "fairness" in that approach.

apparently its not a big issue, just have to fill in some paperwork

[KiwiGuy]

*removed*

he he he he were you a little abusive to the Gov

[DonkeyRhubarb]

Hiya all,

Can somebody confirm when the next formal review date is for MP and PwC and therefore some further clarification on next steps. Also, what are the likely events that will follow this review ?

Check out the latest status on the 1st post of this thread. In terms of timescales, we are entirely at the mercy of the courts.

Hopefully, we should get a response to our (MP) application to the CoA within a few weeks.

If the application is accepted, then it's likely our case will be joined with PwC's and both will be heard in the CoA within 6-9 months.

If the written application is refused, then MP will take it to an oral hearing.

[travellingknob]

Hmm, Ive got the option to relocate to the US with my current firm. Seriously considering getting out of this god forsaken hole...think I will wait and see the outcome of the election and appeals first tho...as for having contacts with the UK, they are mainly abroad or in Ireland so no need to step foot back in the UK...Be gutted if I do leave as my family have been here for as far back as I can go, but I am not prepared to basically be ripped off for the rest of my life by a tax regime that is skewed too much towards extracting a disproportionate amount of money from those that are successful. To me there is no, oh whats the word again, "fairness" in that approach.

You never know where life will take you or whether you might want to return. You are wise enough to choose your words carefull not to say it but the meaning is clear. Cutting yourself off with a potential arrest warrent awaiting you when/if you did return is somewhat shortsighted. I recognise your frustration but your better off putting that line of thought out of your mind. What would happen when any of the following transpired: your 10 year passport expires; the USA authorities realise your have an arrest warrent outstanding; you book a flight that just happens to have a stopover in the uk. Do you think in this electronic age that it would never catch you up ? I dont
I speak as someone who has already left but I will certainly face up to the eventual outcome whatever it may be.

[ASB]

Somebody posted mentions a good tax-free rate of return on a savings account of some description. Looking at shifting some money around, but unfortunately can't find the post. Can anybody recall it or I have simply lost the plot again...

[Morlock]

Hmmm

"I believe, however, that the reality is that all users of the scheme were aware that they were using a tax avoidance scheme and that they might, eventually, have to pay the tax they had tried to avoid plus interest on the late payment of the tax. If they chose to spend the tax avoided rather than put it to one side to await the final outcome then that was a choice they made to risk their house and other assets."

I'm interested to hear that morale at HMRC is very low. I believe, however, that the reality is that all prospective employees of the department were aware that they were joining a work avoidance scheme, and that they might, eventually, have to do the work that they had tried to avoid, plus backlog from years of collective laziness. If they chose to ignore the workload rather than actually do it, then that was a choice they made to risk their redundancy packages and other perks of service.

P.S. Another potential reason why morale is low is that their wages are s**t, and it must be depressing to deal with people doing real jobs whose tax bills are higher than their annual salary. Shame.

[travellingknob]

We're all doomed

I can understand your pessimism, especially after Parker's judgment.

Let's hope we can exceed your expectations.

I'm just as pessimistic. The way I see it, the country is broke, they (the Government regardless of whatever party is in power) desperately need to raise funds and they really dont care that 2500 of us get treated unfairly as a result of that.
My only previous experience of the courts (divorce) was that they are extremely fair. However, this case is not about fairness, its about whether our rulers can walk roughshed over parts of the population and get away with it. I think that history tells us very much that they can.
Time will tell, but I sense the current woes of the country play right into the taxmans hands and we will eventually loose. Regardless that the court has to make a decision on the law, it still comes down to how they interpret it. When times are tough our sort of case has no friends, when times are good the outcome would likely be different also.

[DonkeyRhubarb]

Do you think in this electronic age that it would never catch you up ? I dont

You would also find HMRC's Non Resident Recovery Unit on your tail. They have bilateral agreements with other tax authorities (like the IRS) and they can even sell the debt on to local DCAs.

Constantly looking over your shoulder doesn't sound like much of a life to me.