£1.4m bonuses paid to tax workers

MORE THAN £1.4 million has been paid in bonuses to tax investigators since 2008, the Treasury has said.

Two different schemes operate for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officials working on criminal investigations, the Press Association reported.

One is a performance award tied to annual work and the second a recognition bonus for staff, excluding the senior civil service, which reflects “exceptional in-year performance”.

Treasury minister David Gauke revealed in a written answer to Parliament that bonuses were paid in relation to the previous year’s work. He was answering a question from Tory backbencher Priti Patel.

In 2008/09, a total of £379,656 was paid in relation to the year 2007/08. In 2009/10, the figure was £435,689 and in 2010/11 it was £349,168.

In the current 2011/12 year, £275,326 has been paid to officials in criminal investigations but this figure excludes the recognition bonus section of the scheme. The final figure will not be available until the end of the financial year, Gauke said.

The total figure for all four years to date is £1,439,839.

Gauke added: “For 2012/13, HMRC has a remit for a bonus pot of 0.47% of the AA-Grade 6 (known as delegated grades) pay bill.

“The overall value of bonuses paid to those working in criminal investigation will be dependent upon the performance of individuals across the performance year.

“Beyond 2013 we cannot provide any forecasts due to the ongoing wider civil service reward reform work.”