Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
 Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs     | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | HMRC |
| Predecessor | • UK Inland Revenue • HM Customs & Excise |
| Parent organization | UK |
| Headquarters | 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ |
| Leader | Executive Chairman of HM Revenue and Customs |
| Type | Revenue Department |
| Subgroups | Valuation Office Agency |
| Staff | 67,000 |
| A non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes, the payment of some forms of state support, and the administration of other regulatory regimes including the national minimum wage. | |
Contents
History
The merger of the UK Inland Revenue and HM Customs & Excise was announced by Gordon Brown as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Budget on 17 March 2004. The name for the new department and its first executive chairman, David Varney, were announced on 9 May 2004.
Employment of Drug Traffickers
The Guardian reported in 2006 that Hüseyin Baybaşin, head of the "Baybasin Cartel, a notorious Kurdish gang" worked as an informer for UK Customs & Excise. When asked about this, HRMC declined to comment.[1]
Goldman Sachs deal and Surveillance of Osita Mba
The whistleblower Osita Mba revealed to the Guardian that HMRC entered a deal with Goldman Sachs which allowed Goldman Sachs to escape paying £10 million interest on unpaid tax.[2] Following this HMRC used powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) to "to examine the belongings, emails, internet search records and phone calls of their own solicitor, Osita Mba, and the phone records of his then wife" to find if he had spoken to the editor of The Guardian, David Leigh.[3] MPs in the House of Commons public accounts committee praised Mba Osita and called for scrutiny into HMRC's use of RIPA powers in a report. The report said: "We are deeply disappointed by HMRC’s handling of whistleblowers. We consider that HMRC’s use of powers reserved for tackling serious criminals against Mr Osita Mba was indefensible. HMRC told us that it had changed how it deals with whistleblowers and that it now provides information to its audit and risk committee who can use this to challenge how HMRC handles whistleblowers."[4] No prosecutions resulted from the disclosure.
Employee on Wikispooks
| Employee | Job | Appointed | End | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Lander | Non-executive director | 2002 | 2005 | Non executive director |
References
- ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/mar/28/ukcrime.drugsandalcohol
- ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2588501/Tax-chief-wont-rule-using-terror-laws-whistleblowers-three-years-HMRC-sparked-fury-targeting-staff-member-revealed-Goldman-Sachs-deal.html
- ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/26/hmrcs-use-of-powers-against-whistleblower-indefensible-say-mps?CMP=twt_gu
- ↑ http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-accounts-committee/news/reports-taxation/
