Civil servants get tax bills paid

http://money.aol.co.uk/2013/08/17/civil-servants-get-tax-bills-paid/

Civil servants 'get tax bills paid'





Some of Britain's most senior civil servants are having part of their tax bills paid out of public funds - leaving them tens of thousands of pounds better off, it has been reported.

The Daily Telegraph said that Government departments were paying the taxes on perks such as official cars, first class rail travel and rent-free accommodation.

One senior Conservative MP expressed surprise at the arrangements, saying they were out of line with what could be expected in the private sector.

However, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) insisted that taxpayers did not lose out as a result of rules which had been in place since the 1970s.

According to the Telegraph, officials who have benefited from the system include the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, the head of NHS England, Sir David Nicholson, and the former head of the Serious Fraud Office, Phillippa Williamson.

It said that the effect of the deal was to increase the value of their pay packages by up to £30,000 a year.

According to the paper, Sir Jeremy has the use of a chauffeur-driven Toyota Prius which, it said, had cost taxpayers £172,100 over the past two years - including a tax bill estimated at more than £49,000.

Sir David was said have received benefits worth £320,303 over the last six years, including the cost of a rented flat in London, the use of a chauffeured car and first-class train journeys.

Richard Bacon, a Conservative member of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, expressed concern at the arrangements.

"Most taxpayers would be surprised to find that this sort of thing is tax-free. These are out of line with what one would expect from the way people in the private sector are treated," he told the Telegraph.

"Taxpayers are already paying a lot for these people, I don't think they would be expecting to dig into their pocket to pay for the tax on the benefit as well."

However HMRC insisted that the arrangements were in order.

"We can't discuss individual cases. However, cars provided by an employer that are available for employee use are a benefit in kind for the employee and are taxable. These rules have been in place for 37 years," it said in a statement.

"Employers may choose to pay the tax due on the benefit. If so any such payment will constitute an additional benefit - which will also be taxable on the employee.

"This is quite a common practice by employers and is a matter between employer and employee. HMRC makes sure all the tax due is paid."
Unquote.

So we are all in it together then, Dave? It could seem to a thinking man that the greasy parasitic bastards we elect into power might be standing on our shoulders. Your old friend Hunt isn't satisfied with making £15 million out of selling his company... yet another greedy piece of pondlife. Will he invest his ill gotten gains in buying NHS shares when the time is right?  Roll on the revolution.