Ministers love to pontificate on the deficiencies of governance in Third World countries, so it is only fair that the deficiencies of governance in this country should come under public scrutiny - and haven't they just, following the appalling loss of the personal data of 25 million people.
The question of course arises: whose fault is it? Who gets to carry the can? We can rule out the possibility of ministerial resignations (see the blog of October 25th) and the head of HMRC has already (most unusually for them!) done the honourable thing, so it's all his fault - right? Well maybe.
Hamish McRae in the Independent makes some telling points about the proliferation of tax regulations and the disastrous idea of trying to merge the Inland Revenue with H.M Customs and Excise - two huge institutions with very different cultures and ways of doing business. But even before that merger the Inland Revenue was out of control. Mention them (or, now, HMRC) to my accountant and you'll get a litany of complaints about their shortcomings that will go on for at least half an hour. He is, perhaps, more outspoken than most accountants, but I imagine he is not the only one with complaints.
The bottom line is that the Inland Revenue had lost sight of the fact that it is a public service, and HMRC continues in the same vein. Typical was an incident 3 or 4 years ago when - despite having sent my return in at least twice - I was doorstepped by an IR official demanding to know why they hadn't recived one. In due course I went in person to the local tax office to deliver a third copy; at the desk I asked for a receipt, only to be told, in belligerent tones, that they no longer issued receipts. Instead I was handed (from a high pile) a letter explaining why not - which boiled down to "people who get receipts can cause trouble, so we aren't going to give them any". The man at the desk - clearly picked for his physical presence - was aggressive and arrogant. His attitude said clearly that any taxpayer was, by definition, a fraudster who wasn't going to put one over on him. This is the public face the IR wished to display, and I have no reason to suppose that HMRC is any different. It is an attitude that permeates all their relations with the public.
It used not to be like that. The Inland Revenue has never, of course, been loved, but there used to be an acceptance of the idea of innocent until proven guilty. The change is one that has permeated down from government, from ministers who increasingly see the public not as their democratic masters but as awkward customers to be kept firmly in their place. Hence the erosion of civil liberties, the growth of the nanny state and the eagerness for ever more comprehensive databases and for ID cards. The present fiasco has at least put a dent in the plans for those unwanted, expensive items.
Will it also make HMRC wake up to its true place in society? I'm not holding my breath.
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