Wednesday 9 May 2012

Junk mail


Heavy brown envelope in the post.Cost of postage? Not sure - I don’t use the post much.

Inside is a year’s supply of bank giro credit slips accompanied by no less than 12 pre-printed envelopes.  What is this clutter on my desk?

It turns out that it's an employer payment kit for the current tax year.  This is so that I can make my monthly payment to the Revenue of tax and national insurance deducted from employees' salaries.

Helpful?  No.

As HMRC will be well aware, we have been paying online for two years.  You have to register and set up an account, of course, to do that.

So, why has some idiot sent me a slab of paper in the post.

It is fair to presume that this happens mechanically, regardless of how you choose to pay, and that thousands of other employers are being sent these bundles of paper that will, like mine, go in the shredder.

How much does it all cost - not just the paper, ink and postage but the administrative expense of a system doomed to achieve, er, nothing.

Whatever it costs, you and I are paying it.  Ironically, my contribution will come out of the electronic payment next week.

Did somebody mention leaking pipes and drought?

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