A report by the Commons public accounts committee says it has uncovered "specific and systemic" failures in Britain's tax-gathering agency while investigating deals with Vodafone and Goldman Sachs, which have attracted mass protests.

The committee chair, Margaret Hodge, accused HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) of making a "policy decision" not to disclose information and using a "veil of secrecy" by citing "taxpayer confidentiality", which denied accountability to the public or parliament about whether deals provided good value for money.

She said it was "crazy" that the panel of MPs had been forced to rely on leaked information from a whistleblower and the satirical magazine Private Eye.

See THIS

So much for clear and transparent taxation rules in Britain.

it's much easier to get money from an individual than from a large Corporation, which probably has batteries of lawyers and accountants to lessen the burden on the Company.

Cheers, HG

Yes HG, while that is certainly true I would have thought that the best people to get owed taxes from the big companies would be the government.

It looks as if we are seeing a deliberate pass being given to these companies that have the power to hide what they owe.

WE... would never get away with anything like that !

Well I bloody certainly don't !

I get really fizzing when I read about stuff like this as the thing is that they can afford to pay their taxes but the rest of us struggle to do that.

If we forget to fill in our annual tax return, DUE SOON BTW, they will be very quick to fine us and hammer us for the few pence of ours that is missing.

But HEY, wait a minute, is that not graft or at least some kind of fraud ?

If it is I think that the HMRC bosses should be held to account, don't you guys ?

I certainly agree on that one Zath', but it always seems that people at this level are protected from the actions that we ordinary mortals would be hit with.

Is there any wonder that there are riots on the streets in just about every country of the world as we watch these parasites get away with murder everywhere.

Why is nobody being held to account for this then ?

I read somewhere that the HMRC is not answerable to Government, due to some loophole or other. They are just a loose cannon.

Cheers, HG

It certainly looks like it HG, but I would have thought that nothing in this country is truly outwith the power of parliament.

Maybe they just need to tighten up the regulations that HMRC run under ?

Something tells me that we have not heard the last of this scandal yet.