Member Article

FSB slams "lazy" HMRC campaign

A new advertising campaign by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has received an angry reaction from a national business organisation. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) last week expressed their disapproval of the adverts designed to catch tax-dodging bosses.

The campaign urges employees who think that their boss isn’t paying the right tax or National Insurance to call an HMRC hotline to report them. This follows a campaign in December 2005 that showed a plumber hiding under a sink to avoid paying tax. The FSB referred this advertisement to the Advertising Standards Authority because small businesses reportedly felt that it attacked the honest small business community.

John Walker, FSB National Policy Chairman, said: “This is the second time in just over a year that HMRC has launched a media campaign that demonstrates their complete lack of understanding of the world of business. “They are right to seek out employers that are dodging tax – they dishonestly undercut our members who obey the law. However, this ‘shop your boss’ campaign will inevitably lead to some disgruntled employees phoning the hotline out of spite to see their employer tied up for weeks in red tape and inquiries by HMRC. “It is a lazy way for a Government Department to do its job – effectively outsourcing its role to the workforce. But a hotline such as this will have to be staffed, with an office provided, when those resources and people could be much better employed targeting rogue employers in the field.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .