The old concept of HMRC is worn out

You see Trade's plan is for every person in Ruritania to maintain a personal data store, managed by state-appointed trusted identity providers. That includes both types of person, natural persons and legal persons, i.e. corporations, trusts, and so on. Once these personal data stores are populated, where is the need for the Revenue? A tax farmer app can simply calculate the amount of tax due and make life more convenient for everyone by filing their tax returns for them and direct debiting the money from their bank accounts. It would be naïve of anyone not to see that that is the purpose of a personal data store and that that is also why the Revenue as currently constituted serves no purpose in the digital-by-default new world.

That's what DMossEsq said in his China Syndrome play. Ridiculous of course.

Except that the excellent Dave Birch promptly reported a meeting hosted by Intellect to discuss the possibility of a mobile phone app to make charitable donations and account for Gift Aid at the same time, please see You can take a gift horse to water, but you can’t make it fill out an HMRC declaration.

Certain people are looking for a knockdown argument in favour of personal data stores (PDSs).

"Holding out against PDSs condemns African children to starvation" sounds like a good candidate. Until you examine it.

Compare and contrast Stephan Shakespeare and the European Commission's plans for Public Sector Information (PSI) – "standing in the way of PSI means there will never be a cure for cancer".

Beware.

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Updated 20.3.14

Daily Telegraph:

Did you spot this? Budget gives HMRC power to raid your bank account – like Wonga ... At the back of the Budget book, there’s this chilling paragraph: “The Government will modernise and strengthen HMRC’s debt collection powers to recover financial assets from the bank accounts of debtors who owe over £1,000 of tax” ...

One step further along the road to Estonia.

Updated 10.5.14

Guardian

HMRC to sell taxpayers' financial data The personal financial data of millions of taxpayers could be sold to private firms under laws being drawn up by HM Revenue & Customs in a move branded "dangerous" by tax professionals and "borderline insane" by a senior Conservative MP.

Telegraph

David Cameron: Taxes will rise unless we can raid bank accounts Taxes will have to rise unless officials are given new powers to raid people's bank accounts, David Cameron has said. The Treasury select committee warned that allowing HM Revenue and Customs to remove cash from bank accounts without court orders is "very concerning" because of its history of mistakes.