HMRC's computers – an unfortunate conjunction of death and taxes?

Following a software update, HMRC's records show a number of their "customers" as being deceased.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, these reports of death are greatly exaggerated.

It is almost beyond a cliché to refer to the quote that death and taxes are the only two certainties in life but it would be worrying if HMRC were to assume responsibility for both. Unfortunately, HMRC are unlikely to accept that being officially recorded as dead removes the obligation to pay taxes and, in any case, there would then be inheritance tax to worry about.

Copied from Baker Tilly's weekly tax brief 23 Sept 2009

What else can a man's razor do?

Radio 4's That Mitchell and Webb Sound recently featured a sketch about a typically overblown razor ad for the Accelerator 12-Blade:

'The first blade shaves you close.

'The second blade shaves you closer still.

'The third blade sets up your internet banking.

'The fourth blade shaves you closer still.

'The fifth blade does your VAT receipts and puts them in an office file, not a shoebox.

'The sixth blade...'

My thanks to Daniel at Taxation magazine for bringing this to my attention.

Fun tweets about accountants

I've been posting the occasional list of fun tax tweets I've picked up on twitter. This time I'm sharing tweets about accountants that made me smile.

My accountant told me to put money into LAND.... so I dug a hole and put it in the garden...
@softwareus

We're taking a cab up to Cambridge, our cabbie is a former accountant (with his own Blackberry!). Man, the recession is worse than I thought
@jackfoster74

Mother is discussing invoicing with me (she's an accountant). Hope she doesn't plan on submitting one for my first 18 years.
@ComplexDiamond

My (just turned) 2yo just counted to ten! He might be an accountant like his uncle.
@MichaTaylor

If all the economists in the world were laid end to end they still wouldn't reach a conclusion. -accountant father in law
@jimupchurch

Sorry about this one... A tongue tried to hire an accountant. The accountant said no. There's no accounting for taste.
@StillDrew

The Queen's tax planning is quite basic

According to this Spitting Image sketch, the Queen's new accountants are the Marx Brothers, masquerading as: Bogus, Bogus & Fiddle.