Dave Hartnett

David Anthony "Dave" Hartnett CB (born 25 February 1951) is a British civil servant who is currently (as of 2011) serving as the Permanent Secretary for Tax at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Career

Hartnett led the 2000 quinquennial review of the Valuation Office Agency before joining the Board of Inland Revenue as Director General (Policy and Technical). Following the merger of the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise, he became HMRC's Director General for Customer Contact and Compliance Strategy and then Director General for Business.

He has been a member of Her Majesty's Commissioners of Revenue and Customs, the formal governing board of HMRC, since it was created in 2005,^[1] having previously been a board member of the Inland Revenue.^[2] When Paul Gray resigned as Chairman following the loss of the Child Benefit database, Hartnett took over the post in an acting capacity. After permanent replacements were appointed, Mike Clasper as non-executive Chairman and Lesley Strathie as Chief Executive, Hartnett was appointed to a new post of Second Permanent Secretary for Tax, with responsibility for tax professionalism.^[3]

Incorrect income tax collection

In September 2010 Hartnett was widely criticised for refusing to apologise for the HMRC scandal that saw millions of people being asked for back dated tax after it was revealed that his department had failed to collect tax correctly. He told BBC Radio Four "I'm not sure a need to apologise ...We didn't get it wrong."^[4] He later did issue an unreserved apology.

Corporate tax avoidance

From October 2010 onwards protesters have been blockading and protesting outside Vodafone stores across the UK^[5] following allegations of tax evasion of up to £6 billion, illustrated in a series of articles in Private Eye.^[6] These articles alleged preferential treatment of Vodafone due to personal connections between Hartnett and John Connors, Vodafone's head of tax, a former colleague at HMRC.

In May 2011 Private Eye alleged Hartnett personally "shook hands" on a deal over a long-running tax avoidance dispute with Goldman Sachs dating back to 2002, without consulting HMRC lawyers, letting the US bank off around £10m in interest.^[7] Complaints from HMRC informants that that Hartnett personally intervened in settlement cases and agreed to "sweetheart deals" with no explanation or consultation with lawyers have also been published.^[8] In October 2011, The Guardian published leaked papers regarding the deal.^[9]

Corporate hospitality

Hartnett was named by London University in July 2010 as the most "wined and dined" civil servant in Britain, having been treated to corporate hospitality 107 times over a period of three years.^[10] He has stated his approach to tax disputes with large corporations is "handling disputes in a non-confrontational way and collaborating with customers wherever possible".^[11]

Honours

Hartnett was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2003 New Year Honours.^[12]

Personal life

In 1977, Hartnett married Aileen Patricia Mary O'Dempsey: the couple have at least three children.^[13]

References

1. ^ London Gazette: no. 57613. p. 4843. 2005-04-14. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
2. ^ London Gazette: no. 57414. p. 11832. 2004-09-24. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
3. ^ HM Revenue & Customs. "Dave Hartnett biography". http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/governance/hartnett.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-26. 
4. ^ Refusal to apologise
5. ^ BBC News "Protesters blockade Vodafone shops in tax protest" accessed 2010-10-30
6. ^ Private Eye 1273 "Britain's £6 billion Vodafone bill" accessed 2010-10-20
7. ^ Private Eye 1287 accessed 2011-05-02
8. ^ "The curious Dave Hartnett and Goldman’s sweetheart tax deal" accessed 2011-05-02
9. ^ David Leigh (2011-10-11). "Goldman Sachs let off paying £10m interest on failed tax avoidance scheme". http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/oct/11/goldman-sachs-interest-tax-avoidance. Retrieved 2011-10-11. 
10. ^ Telegraph article on "corporate hospitality" [1] accessed 2010-12-12
11. ^ Daily Mail article quoting a speech by Hartnett [2] accessed 2010-12-12
12. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 56797. p. 2. 2002-13-31. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
13. ^ Official Who's Who website

Offices held

Government offices
Preceded by Paul Gray	Chairman of HM Revenue & Customs Acting 2007-2008	Succeeded by Mike Clasper as Non-executive chairman, HMRC
		Succeeded by Lesley Strathie as Chief Executive, HMRC
New office	Second Permanent Secretary for Tax, HM Revenue & Customs 2008-	Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Hartnett, Dave
Alternative names	Hartnett, David Anthony
Short description	British civil servant; current (as of 2011) Chief Executive of HM Revenue and Customs
Date of birth	1951-02-25
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death