It is that time of year again when I have to complete a tax return and I dread it every single year which means I leave it to the last minute which in turn makes things worse. Years ago it used to be much more straightforward to deal with the “taxman”. There were local offices where you could go and speak to a human being and forms were not too long or overly complicated. Now, however, it is all very different. Everything is online. There is absolutely no way to see someone face to face. It is impossible even to email them. Forms are ridiculously confusing and designed to trip you up every step of the way rather than gently help you and guide you through the process. It is all such an awful and impersonal way of being dealt with. You are not a person you really are quite simply a number.
Why do things have to be this way? Why is there no thought to people who may find this process rather difficult and even upsetting? Do they think that everybody has a degree in accounting and taxation? There used to be a thing that Government bodies would update all their forms so that they complied with simple and straightforward English that was easy to understand and follow. That all seems to have gone out of the window. As with most things Government related they do not want to help people at all and would rather you made a mistake and so end up paying a fine.
A simple tax return for an income so low that it hardly registers as an income at all is now likely to lead to me having little or no sleep. Thank you HMRC! Thank you for nothing.
Grumpy Old Daddy 