Lower benefits cap

[Robin-H]

i do agree that we seem fix on going after claim fraud instead of tax fraud, i think i saw that there 100 time more people looking into benefit fraud than tax fraud and the one looking into tax just mainly go after soft target.

 

That isn't actually true.

 

It is something that has been doing the rounds of social media for a while (the 10 times figure, not the 100 times figure), but isn't true.

 

"They found that while the claim about DWP staff numbers was broadly accurate, the claim that HMRC only had 300 staff investigating tax cheats was "just wrong" and referred to just one internal unit focusing on wealthier tax evaders. In fact according to HMRC there are actually 30,000 members of staff investigating tax evasion, some 100 times greater than the figure claimed by Robertson today.

 

This number is disputed somewhat. One former tax inspector told the programme the real figure for "full time inspectors" was probably closer to the 8,000 mark. However, although much lower than HMRC's figure, it still suggests the total number of tax fraud inspectors is more than 26 times the level suggested by Robertson today. It's also signifcantly more than the number of inspectors targeting benefit fraudsters within the DWP"

 

http://www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2016/04/13/pmqs-factcheck-does-the-dwp-employ-ten-times-as-many-fraud-i

[Mr Gobby]

It's a totaly unfair system that favours those that don't want to work and you can hardly blame them really. Only idiots like myself get up and go to work and you can thank the old labour Goverment and the EU for the mess we are in.

[ez8004]

It's a totaly unfair system that favours those that don't want to work and you can hardly blame them really. Only idiots like myself get up and go to work and you can thank the old labour Goverment and the EU for the mess we are in.

 

I get up to go to work because I love my job, it gives me incredible job satisfaction and get paid a ridiculous salary for doing it.

 

People go to work because they want to. I know it is hard to believe.

[phil752]

That isn't actually true.

 

It is something that has been doing the rounds of social media for a while (the 10 times figure, not the 100 times figure), but isn't true.

 

"They found that while the claim about DWP staff numbers was broadly accurate, the claim that HMRC only had 300 staff investigating tax cheats was "just wrong" and referred to just one internal unit focusing on wealthier tax evaders. In fact according to HMRC there are actually 30,000 members of staff investigating tax evasion, some 100 times greater than the figure claimed by Robertson today.

 

This number is disputed somewhat. One former tax inspector told the programme the real figure for "full time inspectors" was probably closer to the 8,000 mark. However, although much lower than HMRC's figure, it still suggests the total number of tax fraud inspectors is more than 26 times the level suggested by Robertson today. It's also signifcantly more than the number of inspectors targeting benefit fraudsters within the DWP"

 

http://www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2016/04/13/pmqs-factcheck-does-the-dwp-employ-ten-times-as-many-fraud-i

 

stand corrected however they do seem to go after soft low value target not the more lucrative ones

[tinfoilhat]

I get up to go to work because I love my job, it gives me incredible job satisfaction and get paid a ridiculous salary for doing it.

 

People go to work because they want to. I know it is hard to believe.

 

I don't, I work because I have to and I don't want to treated like a faecal matter by the state. Been there, done that, not doing it again.

[Cyclone]

It's a totaly unfair system that favours those that don't want to work and you can hardly blame them really. Only idiots like myself get up and go to work and you can thank the old labour Goverment and the EU for the mess we are in.

 

How so?

 

A lot of the same benefits can be claimed whilst still in work, so if you're low paid then working should still see you better off than not working.

And many people aren't low paid at all, so capped benefits of 20k/year sounds like a pretty crap deal if you're trying to bring up 4 children on your own.

[tinfoilhat]

That isn't actually true.

 

It is something that has been doing the rounds of social media for a while (the 10 times figure, not the 100 times figure), but isn't true.

 

"They found that while the claim about DWP staff numbers was broadly accurate, the claim that HMRC only had 300 staff investigating tax cheats was "just wrong" and referred to just one internal unit focusing on wealthier tax evaders. In fact according to HMRC there are actually 30,000 members of staff investigating tax evasion, some 100 times greater than the figure claimed by Robertson today.

 

This number is disputed somewhat. One former tax inspector told the programme the real figure for "full time inspectors" was probably closer to the 8,000 mark. However, although much lower than HMRC's figure, it still suggests the total number of tax fraud inspectors is more than 26 times the level suggested by Robertson today. It's also signifcantly more than the number of inspectors targeting benefit fraudsters within the DWP"

 

http://www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2016/04/13/pmqs-factcheck-does-the-dwp-employ-ten-times-as-many-fraud-i

 

I watched a to programme on channel 4 about how to pay no tax (Emma Thompson husband was the "plant" if memory serves). Im shy on detail sadly, but one of the nuggets to come out of it was despite hmrc claiming in front of a select committee that they had a few big fish on the hook for tax evasion it actually boiled down to a few taxi drivers rather than Vodafone. Now it's channel 4 so it could be a lie, but that's the jist of it.

[Robin-H]

stand corrected however they do seem to go after soft low value target not the more lucrative ones

 

Perhaps, but a lot more is being done to crack down of tax evasion than was done under the previous government.

 

The HMRC have employed 2,500 extra staff since 2010 for this purpose, including a 200 strong team of trained criminal investigators.

 

HMRC have also expanded their affluent unit with the recruitment of 100 extra inspectors in order to focus on wealthy individuals. The unit was established as a dedicated team dealing with the tax affairs of 5,000 of the wealthiest individuals in the UK and has yielded an additional £500m in tax since 2009 (figure from 2013).

 

Prosecutions have also jumped dramatically, from under 200 in 2010/11 to just under 1200 in 2014/15.

 

I'm not saying that there doesn't need to be further improvements, but things are surely heading in the right direction?

[El Cid]

Perhaps, but a lot more is being done to crack down of tax evasion than was done under the previous government.

 

The HMRC have employed 2,500 extra staff since 2010 for this purpose, including a 200 strong team of trained criminal investigators.

 

I'm not saying that there doesn't need to be further improvements, but things are surely heading in the right direction?

 

Its all smoke and mirrors.

 

Staff are quitting HMRC in their highest numbers for four years, according to accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young, as HMRC comes under growing pressure to improve its performance.

A total of 1,697 staff resigned from HMRC in 2012-3, the highest number since 2008-9, according to UHY, up slightly from the 1,629 who quit in 2011/12.

 

http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/practice/practice-strategy/hmrc-suffers-heavy-personnel-losses

[unbeliever]

Its all smoke and mirrors.

 

Staff are quitting HMRC in their highest numbers for four years, according to accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young, as HMRC comes under growing pressure to improve its performance.

A total of 1,697 staff resigned from HMRC in 2012-3, the highest number since 2008-9, according to UHY, up slightly from the 1,629 who quit in 2011/12.

 

http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/practice/practice-strategy/hmrc-suffers-heavy-personnel-losses

 

Poor retention figures do not invalidate the post you're replying to.