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Comment: Dave Hartnett's speech at TJ Conference is interrupted by student protest
The usually hushed and respectful atmosphere of the Tax Journal Conference was broken yesterday when the speech of Dave Hartnett, the acting head of Revenue and Customs, was interrupted by student protesters.
The student protest related to the so-called "sweetheart deals" which HMRC has done with certain corporate taxpayers, most prominent among them being Goldman Sachs and Vodafone and in relation to which the Permanent Secretary for Tax remains under intense scrutiny from the Public Accounts Committee.
HMRC is in a difficult position on this. It stands accused of having too cosy a relationship with big business. It has, for the sake of good management of the country's finances, to be able to enter into agreements to settle disputes with taxpayers. But it cannot defend the settlements that it reaches with particular taxpayers without the risk of breaching hallowed principles of taxpayer confidentiality.
There are also lessons for corporate taxpayers. Corporate tax remains big news. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the arguments, the public perception seems to be that - whether by fair means or foul or whether simply by having too close a relationship to the revenue authorities - business is not making a fair contribution to the costs of society
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10 November 2011
Author: Ashley Greenbank
