Making forms and guidance easier to obtain and understand should help to reduce the unintentional errors by taxpayers and result in more accurate tax assessments. A report from the National Audit Office today proposes improvements which build on changes already introduced by HM Revenue & Customs. Taxpayers can obtain forms and guidance from HM Revenue […]
By transferring ownership or leases of around 60 per cent of its estate (591 properties) to a private contractor, Mapeley, in 2001, the Inland Revenue and HM Customs & Excise planned to reduce their running costs and had the opportunity to save up to £1.2 billion by reducing the size of the estate. However, in […]
Income tax is processed accurately in the majority of cases by HM Revenue & Customs, but errors in processing lead to the wrong amount of tax being paid by around 1 million taxpayers, the NAO says today. In a new report to Parliament, the spending watchdog points out that HMRC accurately calculates the right amount […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, today issued his audit certificate on HM Revenue & Customs 2006-07 Trust Statement of revenues. Sir John was able to issue an unqualified audit opinion on the truth and fairness of the Trust Statement, but in common with 2005-06, issued a qualified opinion on regularity due to levels […]
HM Revenue & Customs achieved a return of around £4.50 for every £1 spent on tackling the hidden economy in 2006-07 and recent campaigns to encourage people into the formal economy have achieved much higher returns. But, according to the National Audit Office, the penalties the Department imposes when it detects people in the hidden […]
The Comptroller & Auditor General , Gareth Davies, has qualified his opinion on the regularity of HMRC’s 2018-19 Resource Accounts.
Today the National Audit Office has reported that the Department for Work and Pensions increased recoveries of benefit overpayments from £180 million in 2005-06 to £272 million in 2007-08, and preliminary results suggest that the Department has achieved its recovery target of £279 million for 2008-09. But recoveries are not keeping pace with the rate […]
The evasion of road tax by motorists and motorcyclists has increased significantly, the National Audit Office has reported. According to the Department for Transport’s roadside survey in June 2006, Vehicle Excise Duty evasion was running at some 5 per cent (£217 million), up from 3.6 per cent (£147 million) the previous year. The Driver and […]
Newly registered businesses are more likely than established businesses to get their tax affairs wrong, but if they are helped to get it right first time they are likely to continue to comply in the future. A report from the National Audit Office today puts forward a series of recommendations to encourage improved compliance by […]
Kids Company, a children’s charity, received at least £46m of public funding. Officials raised concerns about the charity’s cash flow and financial sustainability at least 6 times between 2002 and 2015 but the charity never reached a position where it was able to operate without government assistance.
BIS will not be well-placed to secure value for money on student loan repayments until it has a more robust strategy to improve collection performance.
This report examines whether the government secured financial sustainability across the local authority sector during COVID-19.
This report provides an update on the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
The Comptroller and Auditor General has qualified his audit opinion owing to the material level of fraud and error in benefit expenditure.
The purpose of the guide is to demonstrate and explain some of the good practices used by organisations in tackling external fraud. It includes checklists to help you assess your current practices.
The Charity Commission is not regulating charities effectively. It fails to take tough action in some serious cases and makes poor use of its powers.
Government departments are continuing to make progress in improving the quality and timeliness of their accounts which they submit for audit. However, according to head of the National Audit Office Sir John Bourn, a large number of departments will need to make significant further effort if they are to meet the Treasury’s timetable for the […]
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament on the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) accounts for 2005-06. The VED evasion rate increased from 3.4 percent in 2004 to 3.6 percent in 2005 (£147 million). This reversed the previous decrease, and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) acknowledges that it […]
Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, today published a report on HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) accounts for the year 2005-2006. HMRC collected total revenue of some £404 billion. For the fourth year running, Sir John has qualified his opinion on the Trust Statement in respect of tax credits because of the likely level […]