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The news report from the flagship news programme comes after Downing Street rejected calls for an inquiry into the handling of 3,000 suspected tax evaders associated with the bank. The Prime Minister's office said officials had done what they could to make sure people paid up and argued that it was 'right that HMRC prioritised collecting revenues' before bring cases where they could work with prosecuting authorities.
Arctic Systems
The report contrasted this with the treatment of Geoff Jones, owner of a freelance IT business, Arctic Systems which fought a landmark case against HMRC from 2002 to 2007. In short, the failed HMRC case argued that the dividend payments made to Mrs Jones should be taxed at a higher rate as if it was part of her husband's income.
The case revolved around the controversial Section 660 rules - the so-called 'married couple's business tax', culminating in hearings in four separate courts and an eventual victory for Mr Jones in the House of Lords. (See: Arctic: The end of the road - July 2007).
There were also many questions and discussions in Parliament at the time and the threat of changing the law to catch couples in business together in what was then called 'income shifting'.
Hounding
Mr Jones told the Radio programme how the five year battle had affected him. He said: "I pride myself on being honest, so when you have an organ of the state saying that you are a tax cheat, it is a terrible thing to bear.
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"I had hoped that on the eight years since my case some things might have changed, but I don't think they have at all."
Freelancer and self-employed representative group, IPSE, believes microbusinesses are an easy target for HMRC, which, it says, is 'stifling' the work of independent professionals across the country.
Simon McVicker, Director of Policy and External Affairs at IPSE, said: "The way HMRC are fiercely pursuing independent professionals while turning a blind eye to tax avoidance tactics by big business is completely unfair and is stifling the important work of microbusinesses up and down the country, which will in turn affect economic growth.
"Tax avoidance on all levels is wrong, but in light of the recent HSBC allegations, HMRC are picking on innocent individuals while big business are getting away with wrongdoing lightly. One of IPSE's top priorities is to support microbusinesses who are being unfairly treated by HMRC."
HMRC - Impartial
HMRC issued the following statement: "We treat all taxpayers impartially, but our specific approach will depend on the scale and complexity of the taxpayer. How we deal with individuals in PAYE with the simplest tax affairs is obviously different to how we intervene with a large and complex business, but the principles that we apply are exactly the same.
"Our aim is to help all businesses to get their taxes right, and help those who make mistakes to correct them as quickly as possible. Like any very large organisation, we know we sometimes make mistakes, and it's important that when we do we admit to our errors and put things right.
"Being impartial also means that we will always come down hard on those who deliberately try to cheat the tax system, whether they are wealthy individuals, large businesses or SMEs. We have a wide range of powers to tackle tax cheats, and we select the most appropriate for the circumstances and for collecting the tax due.
"The UK's five million small businesses are the life blood of the economy and we want to help them to flourish, which is why we're helping tens of thousands of businesses to claim a range of tax reliefs, and have helped almost a million employers to claim a £2,000 national insurance rebate through the Employment Allowance. We have also created an online tax account that more than two million businesses are using to keep track of their tax affairs, and we help hundreds of thousands of small businesses to stagger their tax debts through time to pay arrangements."
Further information
Shout99 followed the Section 660 case in detail. It is summarised in two articles covering the events here:
You can also read more about the background and the issues which were at stake in Shout99's Section 660 resource centre
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Susie Hughes © Shout99 2015
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