I am a University Professor with a modest lecture income outwith my PAYE income. I was inspected last year and have never been treated with such utter contempt. In the end, I admit to paying for the inspector to "go away" at a cost of around 3 months taxed PAYE income (and four years of lecture income on which I had already paid tax). I suspect I am not alone and, having been accused of fraud, professional misconduct, having secret bank accounts and threatened with the siezure of my assets, I gave in. Few people realise the power of the tax inspectors and their lack of accountability.

Alan Jardine, Glasgow, UK

I'm self employed. I had a four year investigation at the hands of HMRC for the dreaded IR35. The same IR35 that HMRC have investigated 1500 cases and only found tax owing in 4. Yes that's right 4 out of 1500 cases that your tax paid for taking on average 2 years! They rely on people being frightened into just ticking the box and paying up a tax they don't in fact owe. It's a huge protection racket. Four years of hell, the ruin of my business and errors upon errors made by HMRC. The vindictiveness of it was appalling - contacting my clients making out I was some sort of criminal so that they refused to do business with me. At the end even with all the evidence I had of their misbehaviour I was so exhausted and relieved it was all over and I was in the clear I could only walk away - even with all my wishes of some sort of "revenge". It's left me feeling incredibly bitter towards this Government with all their talk of "entrepreneurship" and "small business" - it's all absolute rubbish.

Andrew Lockhouse, WInchester, Hampshire

I am disturbed to note that no newspaper website appears to be reporting this fiasco under the 'crime' banner.

It is a matter of criminal negligence, isn't it? . . . or am I being naïve?

Andrew Perrott, London, UK

I can tell you they do bully, I was hauled to court for tax credit overpayments. Yet I was not allowed to present my case to the judge. The revenue had the 'certificate of debt' the judge said sorry there was nothing he could do.
BTW the revenue told lies to my mp

sam, sheffield, uk

they worst than whores atleast whores provide a service and then charge!!!!

yob, london,

Watch out, Libby! They'll be targeting you next. Revenge! Revenge!
Your pal, the ol' Dook of Edinburgh doesn't have to put up with this kind of outrage. "How many crates of champagne did you order last year, Your Royal Highness? How many guns? Do you REALLY need that many carriages? How do you pay for it all? You must be on the fiddle."

Selina, London,

In response to Ned Ludd: in the world of tax investigation it is indeed the case that HMRC can make up a number for profit they think you haven't declared and paid tax on, and it is up to you to produce evidence that their figure is wrong. In the world of tax, the accused is guilty until he proves his innocence.

I've heard of one case where a specialist builder was assessed for £40,000, every time he refused to pay or give in to threats, HMRC came back with a lower offer to settle the matter, eventually (after changing accountants) he paid what he actually owed, nothing.

Chris, London,

Neil Barrett - through your general incoherence you appear to condone bullyboy tactics. HMRC do harrass people. My partner is summoned to court to pay allegedly outstanding tax on his business. In rebuttal he sent detailed information on every tax transaction dating from incorporationproving he'd paid in full and up to date. HMRC's figures didn't tally with his and when asked why not the response was that they didn't know why they had discrepancies. Their position is to take him to court regardless of the fact he can prove his accounting and HMRC can't prove theirs. This at the tax payers expense I may add. It's a waste of time and effort for the courts, my partner and HMRC and I doubt this is an isolated case.

Alex, Southampton, Hants

Having had an "inspection" by the revenue I can confirm the veracity of this article.

The nasty piece of work sent to hassle my small business for three days, examined three million pounds worth of turnover, our income tax and expenses and finally "discovered" an underpayment (which we disputed but were unable to disprove because of a mislaid invoice) of £500 (0.016%).

She was quite exultant about it and we were then treated like criminals until it was paid. She was very proud of the fact that, as she put it "We have more powers than the police, you know".

Privatise the lot of them.

Let them see how hard it is to actually make money rather than just taking it.

Small business, Knaresborough, UK

As an accountant who represents many business people under enquiry, I agree absolutely with Libby's analysis, and suspect it is written from experience!!. There is a culture of contempt within the Revenue which is occasionally breathtaking, particularly for very small businesses. I am dealing with one case at the moment ( 2 and a half years and counting), where they have found nothing wrong but the Inspector will not let go. Large businesses, and real tax evasion receive kid glove treatment by comparison. My client is between a rock and a hard place? Do you fancy doing an article on his plight, Libby?

Julia Casimo, Liverpool, UK

Is it just me or does that Neil chap (below) seem to suffer from a lack of a joined up thought process? Rather odd...

Thank you Libby for pointing out that at the very core of the IR is unaccountability. I wonder if people ever get legal aid for taking them on? The omnipotence of the IR is reminiscent of the Ancien Regime of France!

Victoria, London, UK

The bureaucracy of this country becomes less accountable and more powerful as the days go by...........and less and less efficient...
constantly justifying their existence and subsequently becoming more and more intrusive... a money pit of protected earnings and inflation proof pensions, contributing nothing and soaking up ever increasing amounts of money.

I for one am fully prepared here and now to state that this is one 'citizen' that will refuse to have an identity card...the faceless ones cannot be trusted!

RJD, Kidderminster, England.

As a tax accountant I have never known Inland Revenue staff to bully any of my clients. Interviews are conducted courteously. A common indicator of possible fraud is when a person has taken insufficient personal drawings to finance their apparent lifestyle. Bank statements can give an indication of this. If a person enjoys frequent luxury holidays, drives two luxury cars, pays private school fees, is a member of an exclusive golf club, all that shows on the bank statement. The taxpayer might be called upon to explain how they manage that on their declared, low, personal drawings. If the money came from an inheritance or a gift, the taxpayer can produce documentation to support that claim, and that is the end of it.

During thirty years as an accountant and tax advisor I have only once had cause to complain to the Revenue about heavy handed tactics. The matter was dealt with to my satisfaction, as soon as I referred it to the Inspectors' departmental head.

Rose, Lincoln, England

Ned Ludd asks "Can any tax accountants or lawyers reading this piece confirm that the revenue put the burden of proof on to the citizen? Making such investigations a case of "guilty until proven innocent".

Revenue ask for records of outgoings, and check they are compatible with money withdrawn for personal use. That is reliable indication of incomings. They then ask if any unearned income, eg gifts, was received.

The injustice is that taxpayers who prove themselves totally innocent may not claim from the Revenue, the costs of employing an accountant to help them state their case.

Rose, Lincoln,

I for one think they are targeting the right group and fully support the endeavours of the Government to collect the taxes due from a group that can often be evasive.
Its the people on PAYE who are screwed.

John , North Yorks,

What Libby says is all too depressingly true. Under Self-Assessment the taxpayer is obliged to fill in a complicated form, or pay an accountant to do it. As a freelance I often ask self-employed people who came to the house to do jobs for me how they manage. One told me: "I keep two big envelopes by the front door. Into one I put all my outgoings, into another all my earnings. I try hard not to forget any payment to me, and I try to get a receipt for every expense I incur. At the end of the year I hand the two envelopes to my accountant, who works out my tax for me". But he knows, as we all do, that the slightest oversight can result in an investigation, which he will have to pay his accountant to deal with. The onus is always on the taxpayer to prove that s/he is not on the fiddle. As Libby says, it gets very wearing. I sometimes envy those on Schedule E who have it all deducted at source, but then I think, what if one's coding is wrong? Only an accountant can sort that out for you...

JF, Canterbury, UK

May I correct Miss Purves when she states that the Revenue & Customs Office is in Gateshead. It is in Washington which is in the borough of Sunderland, not Gateshead.

PattieB, Gateshead, UK

Phew I thought for a while it was only us on PAYE that were paying income tax!

John , North Yorks,

To those who seem to think Libby's on some sort of unjustified crusade, I suggest they wait until they're on the receiving end of some HMRC antics before they opine.

I can vouch for the Revenue's vindictiveness. Many years ago they hit my father with a totally unjustified "assessment" of back tax owed of some £25,000 for a small business he ran as a sideline - it had a turnover of less than £5000 a year and probably made £1500 profit if he was lucky - max tax per year £400. At the time he was quite ill and I handled the rebuttal for him. Not a penny was owed, and the original claim I am convinced to this day was just to get his attention. I have never forgiven them.

I now run my own small consultancy business and am one of the types Libby talks about. Insurance for fees to counter potential investigations by HMRC costs me about £500/year. I consider it money well spent, for the satisfaction it will give me when they come knocking - and lose.

Jon, Aberdeen,

As VAT Officer now in HMRC,but formerly in HM Customs , I am glad that we were spared the worst of Libby's wrath. She is correct that there is a very different culture in the former Inland Revenue. Those of us ex Customs staff feel that we have been taken over by a gigantic behemoth where nobody knows who does what where ..

Ian Arnott, Cambridgshire,

Two recent cases back your views Libby.

One was reported in this paper, that of Neil Martin a builder who was made bankrupt by HMRC through their own errors and not due to any fault of his own.

Another was Arctic, a company that HMRC said owed them nearly £50,000. Arctic disputed this and HMRC took it all the way to the House of Lords where they lost. Evidently HMRC had hoped to bully and intimidate Artic into paying tax they were not due to pay.

Mr Davies, London, UK

You have woken up to the fact that we live in a dictatorship. Just because we have a vote and can still (just) express an opinion in private does not disguise the fact that this and every government department have put themselves above the law acting in a manner reminiscent of Stalin and other dictators. As one who has lived under both systems the similarities are both frightening and depressing.
This is the result of the 'socialist' and envy politics of the last 50 years. Personally, I have consistently tried to stand up to these bullies but on every turn the advice is to give in as it costs too much to fight and ' they ' have targets. I refuse to give in to such intimidation as I believe in democracy and honesty but the price, as you have noted ,is very high. The end result is that the UK looses all round. Shortly I shall leave the UK and take my medical skills with me so I can sleep at night, grow old in peace, and above all contribute positively and honestly to society.

MG, Northleach, Gloucs

Maybe they just hate you

It must be a little tiresome for them to ring up obviously paranoid (which they percieve as made up) 'freelancers' who get by through stirring and having fantastic personalities based upon the best of all qualities - confidence, knowing that they have been told somewhere throughout their life that somebody is always trying to rob you.

I must admit i wouldn't like to ask Ken Dodd for his financial statements

mark, london,

Just to answer Neil's question: yes, the burden of proof is on the tax payer to prove he does not owe the money.

The HMRC is the most evil of all the public regulatory organisations. When i was a lawyer in a well known City niche firm, the senior partner described his hatred towards the organisation that ruined entrepeneur clients' lives...

Iain, Bristol, UK

You don't suffer from injustice like, perhaps, 90% of the population, Libby.
Live by a major road. Use public transport. Walk OUTSIDE of "society", where the AIR of thought is cleaner; purer. Try a few things. A few things else.
I read that you had suffered some ill fortune in your life, and I sympathise. We All actually suffer.
Beyond You those people in those jobs you so hammer also suffer. More than you.
Next is "They shouldn't do them, then". You though have a choice. At least a far more palatable choice.

Neil Barrett, Grantham, England

Can any tax accountants or lawyers reading this piece confirm that the revenue put the burden of proof on to the citizen? Making such investigations a case of "guilty until proven innocent".

Ned Ludd, Huddersfield, UK

What are you Moaning about, Libby. Just "get on with it". Like the Duke of Edinburgh. (And me.)

You can't have it both ways. Can you?

Neil Barrett, Grantham, England

What amazing powers of projection and empathy. If I didn't know better I might suspect that Ms Purves herself had been on the wrong end of HMIR meddling

k molloy, liverpool,