Rebel tax office staff ready to blow whistle on 'inept' HM Revenue & Customs bosses

A rebel group of tax office staff have set up a whistleblowing network aimed at exposing what they claim to be errant bosses within HM Revenue & Customs.



The group, calling themselves Dissent, claim to have 324 members and ‘a presence in every office across the UK’ and say they are ‘tired of the corruption, ineptitude and mismanagement from within the department in recent years’.

The development comes as a damming report published today by accountant UHY Hacker Young says morale within HMRC is at rock bottom and only 17 per cent of staff have confidence in the decisions made by senior managers.



HMRC: Staff cuts have reduced the department by 40 per cent and offices are being closed around the country

Dissent appear to have formed after it emerged the country’s top tax official signed off a deal which let investment bank Goldman Sachs off a £10million tax bill.



MPs on the powerful Public Administration Committee accused Dave Hartnett, Permanent Secretary for Tax, of being ‘cavalier’ with taxpayers’ money last month.



The HMRC boss, who has been described as Britain’s most ‘wined and dined’ civil servant, was also quizzed over the 107 breakfasts, lunches and dinners he enjoyed over three years with big firms.

The rebel group, who are in contact with the Daily Mail, said: ‘We wish to speak out against the bad practice and double standards that operate in Revenue & Customs. We wish for a fair tax system that does not reward the wealthy elite and big business.



‘We have amassed a comprehensive database of personal information on staff members including expenses, benefits, conflicts of interest etc.’



A spokesman for HM Revenue & Customs said she was aware of Dissent: ‘HMRC is proud to be an open organisation which welcomes and encourages the views of all our staff.

‘Anonymous and unconstructive letters are therefore completely unnecessary and irrelevant. We have well defined procedures for staff to report any genuine grievances.’



The low morale at HMRC has affected its service, says UHY, as just 13 per cent of staff felt that when changes were made within the department they were usually for the better.



Only 18 per cent felt motivated to help the tax office meet its objectives and only 37 per cent of employees thought that poor performance was dealt with effectively, the survey showed.

Roy Maugham, a tax partner at UHY, said: ‘The sense of disillusionment present in HMRC is clear to see; the worry is that it seems to be affecting customer service.’



The accountant said in June over 7million people had been charged the wrong amount of tax and would either have to give money back to the taxman or wait for a rebate.

