In 2010, and continuing into 2011, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs had a landmark year for internal errors that severely affected the tax-paying public. Astonishingly that has not not stopped them from handing out increased staff bonuses totalling £13 million.
The details have emerged following more reports of the ongoing tax code fiasco that has affected millions of tax payers since its announcement last year. The tax code calamity that has seen thousands of citizens receive notices demanding more tax has rolled into 2011 as 450,000 OAPs were given notices this year.
The United Kingdom is also entering an age of austerity as the government imposes cuts and tax hikes in a bid to reduce the monolithic national debt. However none of this has served to dissuade HMRC from rewarding its employees with bigger bonuses than they received in the year previous.
According the official figures the Foreign and Commonwealth office gave out £8.5 million worth of bonuses which is an increase of around £800,000.
The news come as a shock to people who are currently bracing themselves for a new era of wallet-watching. Speaking to The Telegraph, the Conservative MP for Witham in Essex Priti Patel said: "At a time of great pressure on public finances, taxpayers will be appalled to see so much money going on civil service bonuses, especially when some exceed £40,000 on top of large salaries and pensions.”