Here at Liberal Democrat Voice, we are always thinking of new things to bring to our readers. Opinion, news, ideas, our editorial team and volunteer authors bring all this to you and more. However, there is plenty of information out there that campaigners, and anyone who takes an interest, might find useful. So, here’s a miscellany of announcements you might have missed;
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have recently announced a new telephone helpline for the recently bereaved, 0845 300 0627, open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Friday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, following collaboration between the voluntary sector and HMRC, in the hope that this will make some of the work of dealing with tax and other related issues a little easier.
Also, this month saw the formal signing of the first ever Double Taxation Convention between the United Kingdom and Liechtenstein. Following on from the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility, whereby information on those holding bank accounts in the Alpine tax haven is made available to the United Kingdom authorities, £363 million of additional tax yield has been obtained, with an estimated £3 billion expected to be raised by 2016.
And finally, have you ever wanted to know how much tax you owe, and how it is spent? HMRC has launched a tax calculator for iPhones and Android smartphones.
Have you run into something that might be useful for other Liberal Democrats to know, not long enough for an article but worth publishing? Drop us a line at voice[at]libdemvoice[dot]org…
3 Comments
HMRC Tax Calculator – which tells you how much tax you pay, and how it’s spent: https://esi2calculator.hmrc.gov.uk/hmrctaxcalculator/investigate/Personal+Tax+Calculator/en-GB/Attribute~b2%40Rules_GlobalProceduralRules_doc~global~global/qs%24s15%40Interviews_Screens_xint%24global%24global?user=guest
Does HMRC really need so many different helplines for different aspects of tax for different customers – there are now nearly 20 different tax helplines run by HMRC, each with their own different 0845 number – wouldn’t a 1 stop shop approach or at least a triage system be better via a single contact centre?
@ James Sandbach
HMRC, simple and one-stop-shop number?! Why would they want to lose revenue, when they can keep you hanging for 40 minutes on one number, only to be told that they don’t deal with that enquiry on that specific number you have rung, even though that was the number you had been given after spending 25 minutes waiting on another number to be answered! Remember, the HMRC are not there to help us mere prols! 🙂