You may not like me - particularly I guess - if you are a member of HMRC. But I’m going to tell you something right now that’s going to make you really dislike me and perhaps even hate me. I’m writing this blog from a Ski resort in France called La Rosiere. Yesterday, I skied into Italy and had gnocchi - which was lovely; and the weather: dream blue skies and fluffy white snow - the sort that skiers dream about.
Now here’s the rub: this is work: I’m here with two friends working on a travel piece for a national newspaper. The whole trip has been arranged through a PR company (and is therefore free to us - yes: free transport, free skis and free lift passes) and more than that when I go out for a meal I can claim the cost back against tax - as I understand quite legitimately.
Hate me? Take a ticket and stand in line.
And I think this is what happened when Jacqui Lamper started to look in to my case. In the year she opened I had been on a cruise around the Hawaiian Islands with my wife and another around Barbados, with my brother. Both were hosted (ie free) trips, and in that year I’d turned over less than 10K!
So naturally Jacqui wanted to know how somebody on such a low income could have such a fabulous lifestyle. It was explained to her but still, it must have stuck in her throat: it was an affront to her sense of natural justice. Because - let’s face it - flexitime and five weeks holiday a year is a good HMRC perk, but it’s not international jet-set.
Additional Note: In a report to her boss in January 2007 HMRC inspector Jacqui Lamper wrote, "The earnings do not appear to be consistent with his lifestyle. For instance I believe he has a holiday each year but so far I have been [un] able to identify any costs just odd purchases of items such as batteries at the airport."
0 comments:
Post a Comment