The jewel in the crown of Samizdata.net
A blog for people with a critically rational individualist perspective. We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.

Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR
[Russ.,= self-publishing house]
Learn about the Gadsden flag.





Support Denmark and Free Speech against totalitarian Islam.
Default font size Large font size Larger font size
There is much to find for those who look
White Rose
Print Version
Blogging Glossary
Pictures
Meme hacks
Merchandise
Samizdata for PDA
Syndicate Samizdata.net
XMLRDF
We are not alone

White Rose protest blog collective

Libertarian Alliance
Libertarian Alliance

Centre for the New Europe

Libertarian International
Liberty's cause transcends
mere national borders



Made possible by...
Web and graphic design by the dissident frogman

Powered by Movable Type
 
January 26, 2008
Saturday
 
 
Even when you get robbed by the taxman, they mess up
Johnathan Pearce (London)  Privacy & Panopticon • UK affairs

Anyone in Britain who wishes to file a tax return to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs must do so online. Oh goody:

The security of the online computer system used by more than three million people to file tax returns is in doubt after HM Revenue and Customs admitted it was not secure enough to be used by MPs, celebrities and the Royal Family.
Thousands of "high profile" people have been secretly barred from using the online tax return system amid concerns that their confidential details would be put at risk.

Of course, as the Daily Telegraph rightly points out, the HMRC is the department that managed to lose details of 25m people back in the autumn; it may be a rash prediction to make, but the more this sort of nonsense piles up, the less likely it is that the ID card will go ahead as planned. We can all live in hope, anyway.

Comments

As more and more of these cock ups appear, with our personal data being lost, leaked, stolen and misused, confidence in the ability of the state to do anything but the most minor things competently will hopefully decline and we'll see a move towards a more minimalist government.

Hah! Had you going for a minute there.


Posted by mandrill at January 26, 2008 10:29 AM

Wot?

Not secure enough for MP's and celebrities?

I may be prepared to concede special treatment for the Royal family, but if it is not secure enough for Bono, Sir Richard Branson and Fred Bloggs, MP, then it is not secure enough for anyone else either.

Cheek of it all.


Posted by CountingCats at January 26, 2008 10:41 AM
Bono, Sir Richard Branson

You could probably come up with a decent definition of insanity involving people like that still actually paying taxes in Britain.


Posted by Andy at January 26, 2008 11:26 AM

I'm terribly sorry Mr Taxman but I was far too busy to file my tax return on time.
And that £102,000 underpayment of mine was just an oversight.Could happen to anyone.
So we'll call it quits shall we? I'll try and do better next year.


Posted by RAB at January 26, 2008 01:22 PM

Great. One rule for the rich, another for the not-so-well-off.


Posted by Bluebirds Over at January 26, 2008 02:33 PM

Too much risk of receiving letter-bombs in the post, I suppose.


Posted by Brian at January 26, 2008 09:01 PM
Post a comment









Remember personal info?


Enter anti-spambot Turing code:





Select some text and click this to format it as a quote Make the selected text bold Make the selected text italic Add a web link


Basic html active.

Alas, but for obscure reasons Mozilla, Mac and Linux users shall not harness to power of the push-button formatting options and shall therefore compose basic html with their bare hands. Yet Mozilla, Mac and Linux users shall not fear, for we shall reveal forthwith the mysteries of Basic Html:

<strong>This text in-between is bold</strong>

<em>This text is in italics</em>

And
<blockquote>This is a quote</blockquote>
Remember to close your opened tags as such: <tag> tagged text and closing </tag> and we promise you will get out of here alive.

For adding links, either use the link URL button on the toolbar or enter your code by hand in the following format:
<a href="http://www.your_link.com">your link text or description here</a>

Movable Type's anti-spambot e-mail address protection is enabled.

You are a guest on private property. Have fun but please be civil and succinct. Blogroaches will be persecuted, not to mention IP banned.

Long third party quotes or articles will also be deleted... so just link to articles you think are germane to your comment, don't quote the whole bloody thing.