HMRC has extensive powers to force the provision by taxpayers of information, powers which increase year by year and which it uses with indiscriminate ferocity. It is clearly HMRC’s view, however, that what is sauce for the goose is decidedly not sauce for the gander.
In two recent decisions (30th April 2006 [2026] ICO DN7 and 13th May 2006 [2026] ICO DN8), the Information Commissioner has found HMRC to have breached its duty of disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 s.1(1). Both cases involved further failures to provide information after an initial failure to do so.
The later of the two decisions, that of 13th May 2006 [2026] ICO DN8, is particularly interesting as the original request was for information about HMRC’s use of Fujitsu Software and Services, the system the catastrophic failure of which caused the terrible miscarriages of justice in the Post Office Scandal. HMRC originally falsely stated that it did not hold information within the scope of the request but later, during the course of the Commissioner’s investigation, admitted that it did and disclosed some but not all of the requested information so that the Commissioner was forced to order a further disclosure.
There is clearly a double standard being applied by the Government here; one might say, a two-tier standard. If a Government department displays such dishonesty and contempt for its statutory duties of disclosure, how can it be trusted with draconian powers over the King’s subjects?
