Saturday 17 August 2013

Senior Civil Servants' Tax Bills Paid Using Public Money

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Britain's most senior civil servants are having part of their tax bills paid using public money in an arrangement that leaves them tens of thousands of pounds better off every year.

Whitehall departments are picking up the tax bills for perks such as official cars, first-class rail travel and rent-free accommodation.

The arrangements, which were described by tax advisers as “highly unusual”, were made between government departments and the taxman as part of a deal agreed more than a decade ago.

The effect of the deal is to increase the value of officials’ pay packages by up to £30,000 a year at the expense of taxpayers.

Those who benefited from the scheme include Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary; Sir David Nicholson, the head of NHS England; and Phillippa Williamson, the former head of the Serious Fraud Office.

Richard Bacon, a Conservative member of the public accounts committee, said he was “concerned” that officials are being given tax-free benefits while members of the public have to pay the taxman for theirs. Read on and comment » | Robert Watts, and Steven Swinford | Friday, August 16, 2013