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Venus - "the Bringer of Peace" - Gustav Holst (The Planets)

An article by Bill Dodwell, of Deloitte in Tax Adviser magazine highlighting a number of recent “bad cases of litigation” prompted this letter from Andy Wells.

We have previously called for a level playing field when it comes to bad behaviour or serious errors. Tax payers, and maybe soon their agents, face sanctions including penalties when they get things wrong, but tax inspectors in comparable situations just get on with life. The Working With Tax Agents (WWTA) consultation process is focusing on rogue tax agents to the exclusion of rogue inspectors. We think it is right and proper to seek a balance, and that there is a need for a process that provides statutory recompense to taxpayers for inexcusable service levels. We do not mean to suggest that there are many rogue inspectors, any more than there are rogue agents but in any sizeable population there will be a few. Maybe the Coalition Government will be willing to do something about this.