David Heaton’s 101 Ideas for Tax Panning

Being accused of making a mockery of the tax office, panning the system, and ridiculing a position of authority, the media has had a field day since Government body tax advisor David Heaton was caught committing the Revenue’s cardinal sin at a self-help conference in London. But what have we learned from Heaton’s out of body experience?

David Heaton is fast becoming the scapegoat for everything wrong with tax authorities, the government appointed guru who was secretly filmed offering tips on how to keep money “out of the chancellor’s grubby mitts” has been scolded by just about every source of opinion in existence, and his actions are far from forgotten.

To a budding audience who had paid £1,000 a ticket to see him speak, Mr Heaton did not disappoint as he treated spectators to ten top tips to reduce an individual’s tax bill from the taxman, recommending tax avoidance systems despite pledging his allegiance to the Revenue. This did not wash well, however; Heaton subsequently resigned from his position and no doubt recoiled from civilised existence, his self-inflicted satirical mishap hanging heavy on shoulders.

So what have the public taken away from Mr Heaton’s antics? Well some folk took to Twitter, one person simply tweeting, “David Heaton #ironyalert”, and another stating “If I was David Heaton, I would shave my head and change my name to Heisenberg”.

Many other blogs and posts were made in a similar vein, all showing their shock and astonishment at a truly ridiculous situation; HMRC themselves being criticized for allowing such a blunder to take place and penalised for appointing such a ‘professional’ as a respected advisor.

Treasury minister David Gauke commented, saying: “Mr Heaton’s statements are directly at odds with the government’s approach to tackling tax avoidance, therefore it is right that Mr Heaton resigns from his position.”

Chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee, everyone’s favourite battleaxe, Margaret Hodge said she was shocked by Mr Heaton’s comments: “This is an absolutely classic example of where government passes a law with a particular intent and the tax advisers then abuse that and use it for a purpose that was never intended by government.”

Does David Heaton mark a backwards step for HMRC’s image of a compliance enforcing organisation, and will the Revenue be able to sweep this recent calamity under the carpet?