The Tax Man Cometh

Well it is a gran's net yes I know we have some men but I think they are slightly outnumbered!
Poor things!

Put bluntly, we outlive them so there are probably more of us. Besides, grandad-bashing doesn't roll off the tongue so easily. I expect that's all the choice of words amounts to.

My resident grandpa (DH) loves a good bashing from me - tee hee!!!

I think you have to write a little bit more than that, Nanban, for it to be a blog.

Absolutely wotsamasthing - obviously people haven't arrived at the place! All the media this morning - TV, newspapers, radio etc were talking about the budget being a 'grannie bashing budget' for all the world as if there were only sweet little grey-haired old ladies being hit with new taxes - I think the lesson here is that grandad's are not headline grabbing, and not attractive in the same way we are!

And of course, that is true.

Howzat?

I'm NOT grey haired. It's WHITE

And I, for one, have hardly a grey hair at all! (And no, I'm not bald)

I have some grey hair but am neither sweet nor little. Grrrr

I'm highlighted so there!!!

Mine is silver and I polish it once a week.

Get you!

Better than tarty brassy

I have sounded off more than once about bureaucracy but I have recently had a really helpful (and productive) telephone conversation with the man from HMRC.
I had sent 2 different tax codes and while I understand that I underpaid tax in the year after I retired, I was puzzled by the sentence "If you earn less than £30,000 please let us know"
When I had picked myself up off the floor and stopped laughing, I rang them up and found that they thought I was still employed by my former school because I am on the payroll for a little casual invigilating I have done, NOT at my previous salary. As I shall be 65 within the next tax year, I will get the Age Related Allowance, but as I am more likely to earn about £200 form my invigilating rather than £40K apparently my Age Related Allowance is affected, and to cut a long story short, my tax allowance has changed quite dramatically. He explained that while it would have come right at the end of that tax year and I would have got a rebate, this way I will pay less tax on my pension and on any casual work I do. Result! What is more, he explained it clearly, patiently and IT WORKED IN MY FAVOUR !!

Crikey Gracesmum! That must be a first! Well done you

No no, the tax man is always helpful and completely charming! Really. I always manage to get it wrong somehow or other - once did PAYE for 4 of us too - and we would have a chat once a year where he and I agreed to settle. Nice man.

Having been 'the tax man' for several years, I do get irked when every newspaper headline says 'The tax man is grabbing more money' - taxes are set by politicians, not the civil servants in the tax office. I had run my own small business and created jobs for six employees (all women in the 40-60 age range) and I knew how tough it was, so I was always helpful and often was able to save tax for my 'clients' (as we were told to call taxpayers).

I have had cause to ring my own Tax Office in the UK several times and I have always received courteous and efficient service. Sometimes people don't realise that they need to keep their office informed of any changes in circumstance, or it will be assumed that your affairs have remained the same as the last time you made a return.

I am very glad that at least two members have praise for their 'tax man'.

The Tax Office was a h**l of a lot more civil than the DWP at Cosham. Name and shame!

I've had trouble with the DWP in the past re: my mother's affairs. I had Enduring Power of Attorney [as it was then] but (a) they couldn't find the copy I'd sent and (b) later they were most unhelpful when I had a problem with getting her pension when the post office changes came in. I was actually told to give every carer who came in on pension day her pin number!!! I stuck to my guns and made an alternative arrangement - not easy when 200 miles away - but oh! the stress of it all.

Tax man - nice, helpful, polite. DWP dreadful. Now why is that!

I know! One is supposed to give money out and the other tries very hard not to take too much.