The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland


Fun with words

Posted on June 30, 2023 by

This is, strictly speaking, semantically, true:

It is, however, as the famous phrase goes, not the whole truth.

Because what the auditors actually said:

…in fact constitutes a STATEMENT – not a “suggestion” – that the auditors DO NOT KNOW whether or not the accounts present an accurate picture of the party’s financial position. (Which some might reasonably feel implicitly contains a suggestion that, at a minimum, they might not.)

And we hope it won’t come as too big a shock to the SNP to learn that HMRC, and other authorities with an interest in fiscal propriety, do not tend to be satisfied with “Ooh, dunno where that money went/came from, we left the paperwork on the bus and a big dog ate it.”

It’s also interesting that the gaps in the accounting include the figures for membership fees, which the SNP consistently – and falsely – claims to be its largest source of income. That’s a bit like Celtic handing in accounts that say “We’re not sure how much money we got from selling match tickets”.

(And given that we now know they were lying about their membership to the tune of at least 30,000 members, that raises some fairly serious questions about the amounts of membership income in previous accounts, which were broadly in line with the number of members they CLAIMED to have, not the numbers we now know they DID have.)

Incidentally, we also noted this line in the reporting:

2022 was not an election year, and in non-election years the SNP usually makes a pretty substantial profit (eg over £1m in each of 2018 and 2020). That’s how it funds its much higher expenditure in election years.

So if – as that quote strongly implies – the 2022 accounts show a loss, that would be a pretty grave sign for the state of the party’s finances in and of itself, even leaving the auditors’ disclaimers aside. As for whether it would be able to find another £600,000 to fight a referendum campaign in the unlikely event that one were to suddenly arise somehow, well, we’d probably better not say any more about that.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

61 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Skip_NC

I look forward to seeing the auditor’s report and the full financial statements. I cannot find them on the Electoral Commission website. So I assume the selected highlights have been leaked. It would be suicide for the auditors to do that but I can imagine the SNP would do so in an attempt to get ahead of the story.

Vivian O’Blivion

Leaving aside desperation, who would apply for the position of CEO advertised with a salary of £95k, knowing full-well that the “business” wouldn’t be able to make that figure the next year?

Ellie

Accounts are required, to give an accurate picture of financial status. The current auditors have done all they can with what is available to them, but it does not look good.

Any bookkeeper or accountant knows that accurate record keeping and the need for appropriate paperwork is essential. HMRC would never accept the excuse of no documentation for income.

No matter how much spin the SNP want to put on it, the accounts stink.

ayemachrihanish

These are the Y/E 2022 accounts.

However,if those material uncertainties have now been presented as a material fact in 2023 – then those uncertainties – now become actual liabilities. Sums due NOW!

Meaning, the SNP may today be insolvent. Trading as an insolvent entity. And a trading entity…

withholding insolvent financial liabilities from trading relationships, banks and authorities. We shall see!!

Tommo

Unsurprising; however are the auditors saying-rather than ‘dunno where that money went’- ‘ we dunno how much there was- we know the balance at the end of the previous financial year and we know what they had at the close of this one-but we don’t know how much they made in the meantime’? (much less, where it may have gone !)

Merkin Scot

It would be best ‘for Independence’ if the SNP was to be declared insolvent.
This would save the remaining Sturgeonites from the need to make a choice in the matter of whether to vote for Independence or vote for Nikkla’s shoe-in.

maxxmacc

The SNP can always use the Father Ted excuse, – “the money was only resting in my account.”

And Spouse

Oh I get it now, we don’t want a referendum cos we’d have to produce the £600k! And there was me thinking it was because we were chicken!

Allium

I see the WoS First Direct cancellation is being prominently covered in the Daily Mail online, alongside the Farage story.

Astonished

Am I right in thinking the NEC are responsible if there are significant failings or shortfalls ? And that can mean jail time ?

I also note that the nuSNP members are still in the dark, regarding funds and membership.

Humza is the ‘continuity candidate’, right enough.

And they can’t even sell the luxury campervan.

Alan Rogers

Surely the Electoral Commission and HMRC cannot sit back and just accept that financial paperwork has magically been mislaid. No wonder the CID were searching the SNP offices and Murrells’ home for so long. I wonder if there is an expenses claim for a new shredder in the accounts, the old one must have been overworked in the last few months.

Angus Files

Liability for bankruptcy is with the NEC membership I believe. I cant see why Westminster funding got released on the back of what looks like dodgy accounting. Mind you in the scheme of SNP hemorrhaging cash, 1 Million is the loose change. The difference this time is, its their own accountable cash.. Squeaky bum time.Do the HMRC have 9 weeks holiday at this time of year -thought so.

Ottomanboi

The SNP gov took part in one of biggest health scare scams of the century.
link to archive.ph
It was not alone. How is it possible to continue to trust self styled «authority»?

desimond

Was the industrial shredder leased or purchased?…vote now!

stuart mctavish

For a bit more fun, Google just taught me that

A club is set up by its members usually for a social purpose. The members pay a subscription or a membership fee. Any fund-raising activities that earn a profit is re-invested into the club for the members to enjoy. The business owners on the other hand, have the option to either reinvest the profit back into the business, or take it out altogether and spend it on personal items.

With that in mind, I reckon SNP must have began life a bit more like a social club than a business but suspect that political parties may have better ways of avoiding tax than either – ie its not impossible their accounts are produced more for purposes of making expense claims to the distributor of english gold they risk being bought and sold by (an’ that since circa 1066), than for either their members or the HMRC.

For additional clarity (and far better transparency), scot gov should publish details of taxes paid by all political parties operating in Scotland throughout the history of the union (and since 1066 if possible !) for reference.

In context of the current witch hunt, particular attention needs paying to taxes paid or avoided (including where) by scot labour, scot conservative, scot libdems, and scot greens, etc. since opening of the Scottish Parliament under the 1997 yes YES franchise, and the dramatic rise in turnover it, presumably, begat for each.

liz

Angus Files says:
30 June, 2023 at 3:34 pm
Liability for bankruptcy is with the NEC membership I believe. I cant see why Westminster funding got released on the back of what looks like dodgy accounting.

Westminster accounts are seperate and presumably more straightforward. Money in from WM funding and details of what that has been spent on.

SNP Party funds are much more questionable. With proof now of a difference in actual membership numbers to claimed membership numbers (and apparent figures to prove that) makes you wonder if dodgy donations have been used to shore up the ‘membership subs’. Would mean not having to declare said dodgy donation, and at same time claim membership is still up around 70000.
Ofcourse I am not suggesting this is what they have done – it does however raise serious questions about donations that haven’t been declared (cash in white envelopes) as is being suggested in newspaper articles. Who is actually funding the nuSNP?

John Main

@Ottomanboi 3:35

Truly a mind-blowing link.

Thanks for posting.

Stuart MacKay

As a public service, so you don’t have to, here’s that article about the bank accounts from the Daily (Sieg) Heil, link to archive.ph

robertkknight

How many “ghost” members might, for the sake of argument, £600,000 get you these days, in a social club with less than robust financial record keeping?

Asking for a friend.

Sven

liz @ 15.52
“Who is actually funding the SNP”

I hopeI don’t appear awffy sceptical when I suggest an even more pertinent query would be, “Whom are the SNP actually (or have been in the past) funding .

socratesmacsporran

Rev. – you wrote:

“That’s a bit like Celtic handing in accounts that say “We’re not sure how much money we got from selling match tickets”

Not perhaps the best choice of club, since, particularly under the lengthy rule of The Four Families, Celtic were notorious for posting attendances which bore no relation to the actual attendance.

To put it another way, we suspect the SNP has been over-reporting its membership, while Celtic’s habit was to under-report match attendances.

Robert Hughes

@ Liz

” who is actually funding the nuSNP ”

Very pertinent question , Liz .

That Party is mired in so much shadiness we shouldn’t be surprised if it’s some entity implacably opposed to Scottish Independence .

Not that there’s much of chance of us ever finding out .

It could , of course , be yet another instance of their breathtaking incompetence ; but my intuition tells me there’s more to this that meets the eye . Maybe , in the unlikely event of Polis Scotland’s * investigation * actually ( A ) ending ( beginning ! ) and ( B ) revealing anything of substance , we’ll find out . Don’t hold yr breath

Angus Files

Thanks forgot that it was two separate accounting submissions. Unbelievable the amount of people on here, that gave up time and money and it has come to this, a sham of the old SNP.

James Che

Sorry for going OT so soon, just slipping in some information relating to Scotland, you can return to topic afterwards.

OIL.

Not good enough or the right kind for Scots and Scotlands independence support,?

The Guardian reports.

Activists and Climate Cange experts, ( extremists to you and I ) are vowing to step up campaign to halt a huge North Sea Oilfield,
The Rosebank project has the potential to produce 500 million barrels of Oil,

It is expected that Grant Shapps Energy Secretary will sign of on it in the next coming days, Rushi Sunak says Britain will rely on fossil fuels for the next few Decades,
The norwegian are investors and backing.

Who were the unionist taking the piss on here saying that Oil is gone, finished for Scotland, so cannot relate to financing a independent Scotland,

James Che

PhilM.

“What is the difference between a Conspiracy theory and the truth? 18 months”,
I liked it so much heres my version,

What is the difference between a Conspiracy theory and the truth?
300 years.

Skip_NC

Based on what we know right now, I am not sure that HMRC has any legitimate reason to get involved. The items that the auditors question are not subject to Corporation Tax anyway. See, eg, the 2021 accounts and CT charge at note 16 (p31 of the accounts) and compare that to the various sources of income.

Of course, we have yet to see the full financial statements, so my opinion may change.

Republicofscotland

“And we hope it won’t come as too big a shock to the SNP to learn that HMRC, and other authorities with an interest in fiscal propriety, do not tend to be satisfied with “Ooh, dunno where that money went/came from, we left the paperwork on the bus and a big dog ate it.””

Maybe Sturgeon the betrayer will give her 50 refusals routine to HMRC, and they’ll get bored and not inquire any further into the party’s finances.

James Che

Post was meant for president xicen, sorry

Anton Decadent

This is why Stewart Hosie is stepping down, he is to self identify as £600,001 and the bank will not deny his lived experience and accept him as payment.

Den

Unfortunately for all Scots, they having been running the countries finances with the same laise faire approach as the SNP Party’s finance. Shovelling taxpayers money into a black hole seems to be the only thing they are good at.

twathater

It just shows how much the Scottish Nonce Party have become indistinguishable from the other UNIONIST parties within the ESTABLISHMENT, they ALL reek of corruption and lies

Why have donors to the indy ref fund who have NOT been reembursed not joined together and formed a CLASS ACTION through some no win no fee group to get their donation plus compensation back from these charlatans, and maybe even force them into administration where a luxury camper van would have to be sold to pay off their debts, could you imagine the warm and tingly feeling you would have forcing the NEC to pay off the debts

Ottomanboi

Looking at the world «scene».
link to off-guardian.org
link to off-guardian.org
Even communists and ex communists are infected.
Scotland ought to be the little boy who says, you guys are just so naked.

AdamH

“the original records for some cash and cheques had not been retained for the current and prior financial years”

Couple of questions.

Is that 1 prior financial year or several?

How come these issues were not flagged in prior audits?

100%Yes

Who told Kate and Ash that the membership was 110,000? Its only when MSM got involved that we learnt that the leadership of the SNP including Mike Russell didn’t even know what the membership figure actually where. It state “The records relate to membership, donations and raffle income” It doesn’t look to good.

Angus Files

Skip_NC says:
30 June, 2023 at 4:45 pm
Based on what we know right now, I am not sure that HMRC has any legitimate reason to get involved.

Well if accounts have been submitted and there are failings surely there would be an HMRC tax inspection? This is when the HMRC go through the failings and if they are not happy threaten you with, they have more power than the Police and can lead you out of the building cuffed if you cant give the paperwork or answers they are asking for, and your accountant sits their nodding their head off in agreement with them. No kidding. But it seemingly doesn’t apply to the SNP accounts department which would be worth seeing if it exists out with black bin bags and white envelopes.

Ebenezer Scroggie

The suckers of the £666M scam would have no chance of getting all of their money back plus their costs.

The litigants would be surprised by much of that money got swallowed up the the greedy lawyers.

The scammers have a proven track record of making inconvenient accounts ‘disappear’ and are amnesiacs on an epic scale when it comes to answering questions publicly.

Wossername set an Olympic record for amnesia in under eight hours in her testimony the parliamentary committee looking into the Salmond false prosecution. Somebody on GooChoob kept a count of he number of times she slithered, something over 50.

Ebenezer Scroggie

I really must, post facto, correct my awful typo.

I meant £666k, not M.

James Jones

Skip_NC at 4:45 pm
“Based on what we know right now, I am not sure that HMRC has any legitimate reason to get involved.”

The Electoral Commission does though. I believe July 7th is their deadline.

Skip_NC

Adam H @ 5:45pm, auditors do not look at every transaction. An auditor must develop an audit plan, based on their understanding of the industry and the client. This involves, amongst other things, identifying areas that are the highest risk. Those get the closest attention. Auditors use statistical sampling. The higher the risk, the larger the sample. There are other major areas that get looked at, but if there is no belief that they are high risk, the sample will be smaller. One might compare it to a UK-wide opinion poll. The UK results have a relatively low margin of error whereas the Scottish sub-samples have a much higher margin of error.

So the auditors in previous years could have done a good job, but just happened to select few transactions that could not be vouched for. It is also possible that the records could have been (ahem) mislaid in 2022 after the 2021 audit had been completed. If the 2022 auditors found enough discrepancies in their 2022 sample, they may well look at the prior year to gain a better understanding of accounting processes.

I hate to say it, but it is also possible that the previous auditors looked the other way or were not sufficiently competent to carry out the audit of a large political party. It is not clear to me if ICAS has a peer review system but, if they do, the audit may well be selected in their next round. Any egregious errors may result in disciplinary action, which may become public knowledge.

Angus Files @ 6:00pm, HMRC’s job is to collect tax. They will peruse the accounts and they will look at media reports. Some decades ago, I inspected a business that got on the front page of the papers for being suspected of being a front for a brothel. The newspaper article was the first item in the file when I got it. Because brothels and prostitutes rarely declared their income, my boss deemed it worth inspecting.

So, looking at all the evidence, they may decide that a Corporation Tax audit is not worthwhile. As a separate matter, they may already be considering whether a Form P11D for Peter Murrell has been fully and correctly completed. We will not (well, should not) know that unless the case goes to the First Tier Tribunal. Even the SNP is entitled to privacy in tax matters, unless they choose to appeal an HMRC determination.

Skip_NC

James Jones, I believe the SNP’s NEC approved the accounts last night. So the treasurer simply has to sign them and pop them in the mail (or learn how to use the Electoral Commission’s online system). I imagine they will be filed in time.

I have never been involved with a political party audit. Closest I came was a US candidate training non-profit over fifteen years ago. I do not know how long these take nowadays but I imagine, assuming the auditors had not been too long appointed before the appointment was announced, that the length of time is at the lower end of what is required for a competent audit.

highlander

James Che says:
30 June, 2023 at 4:29 pm

The Rosebank project

———————–

It wouldn’t be in iscots water for a start

A Scot Abroad

Ebenezer Scroggie,

it might not be an awful typo. The police anywhere scale their investigations to the size of the alleged crime.

As we have now had over 20 detectives working on this Op Branchform for 22 months, that’s a lot of resource for a simple £667k, which two or three financial investigators could find in 3 days of looking at the SNP’s ledgers.

I _think_ it’s about public money. Contracts awarded inappropriately. Contracts that balloon in size after award. That sort of thing.

You might turn out to be right in your first post.

Michael

With incomplete recording of income, there can be no trust in the recording of expenditure. The SNP statement says there is “no suggestion of misappropriation of funds”. However, the auditors report that the recording of income is incomplete, so they like the rest of us can only but guess whether unrecorded income was diverted and records of expenditure also incomplete. I can but assume this would already be within the scope of the police investigation. I guess HMRC will meantime be happy to let the police do the work.

Angus Files

Skip_NC says:

I get what your saying but I have seen the HMRC chapping peoples doors for sums ranging from £24 to a couple of hundred putting the businesses to great expense in preparing books etc. Sitting for 14 days in the office of the business looking for what?A conviction justifying their jobs.

So I just cant believe they are not interested in the amount’s the SNP have been associated with. Obviously been told to look the other way.Thanks for your views and the conversation.

Billy Carlin

Ottomanboi 3.35pm

Yes it was one of the biggest health scare scams of the century – an EXACT copy of the AIDS/HIV, Spanish Flu and many other health scams.

Coronavirus is what they call the COMMON COLD and they did use that and the Flu to scare the indoctrinated cowardly masses into going out and getting the FAKE vaccines that are 98% full of the TOXIC poison Graphene Oxide that is clotting these peoples blood and causing the strokes, heart attacks, TURBO-cancer and many other nasty ailments that are killing and disabling people all over the world and causing the massive spike in excess deaths that have been happening every day since they started suckering the people into taking these shots.

Colds and Flu are NATURAL – they are part of the bodies self healing mechanism to detox the TOXINS and POISONS out of the body if you are stupid enough to put them into you via crap food etc or let the corrupt medical system inject into you or via their TOXIC drugs that mask the symptoms of your “problem” and then cause even more “diseases” via their toxins hence why old people end up rattling with the amount of drugs they are on – got to keep the PROFITS coming in for the corrupt Big Pharma and the Mafias behind them all hence why they do NOT want cures for anything only TOXIC drugs and vaccines plus they shut down all of the REAL cures especially the cures for cancer. Colds and Flu come on NATURALLY at the same certain times of the year every year. If you do not stop putting these TOXINS and POISONS into you then your body struggles to detox you via colds and flu then your body stores them in different organs, joints and parts of the body causing what the corrupt medical system call diseases etc.

Go and watch the videos by La Quinta Columna showing under the microscope that toxic Graphene Oxide etc in these “vaccines” that is GROWING inside the veins of the people and causing the clotting etc and how it is the radiation from the 5g and wi-fi etc that is causing it to grow – why do you think that they were in a rush to bring the 5G in and continued to put up the towers everywhere when everyone was locked down.

Go watch the Died Suddenly documentary exposing how these FAKE vaccines have been killing people of all ages since they were rolled out and showing the embalmers and undertakers pulling out massive clots from the the bodies of those who have died from the jabs and how they have never seen anything like it before.

Go watch the video “John O’Looney – Excess Deaths, Turbo-Cancer and the Covid Inquiry Sham” on the Hearts of Oak Rumble channel – the funeral director who has been exposing these clot deaths since the roll out of the vaccines and this guy has REAL balls in this video calling out for the death sentence for all involved in this genocide especially the politicians and police who have the evidence but are ignoring it all.

There are no such things as viruses – doctors and virologists have been exposing this for the last 150 years. The excellent book “Virus Mania – How The Medical Industry Continually Invents Epidemics Making Billion Dollar Profits” by many doctors totally exposes the pandemic scams of the medical industry – You can download the original 2007 version free from the Internet Archive or buy the updated one from Amazon etc that includes the covid SCAM. You can find excellent videos by one of these Dr Sam Bailey on Youtube totally exposing the corrupt medical system.

The excellent book “What Really Makes You Ill – Why Everything You Thought You Knew About Disease Is Wrong” By Dawn Lester and David Parker – also totally exposes the FAKE viruses and vaccines and scam medical system.

Go search for “The Poisoned Needle by Eleanor McBean PDF” by a doctor from 1957 who totally exposes the TOXIC vaccines that have actually been causing diseases allergies etc since they were brought out and how they are based on Fraud.

Go search for “Dissolving Illusions by Dr Suzanne Humphries PDF” and you will get another excellent book that totally exposes the vaccines scam and how all of the so called pandemics of the past were got rid of by bringing in clean piped water, sewage systems, getting rid of crowded slums etc and how the deaths had plummeted to nearly nothing before they brought out the FAKE vaccines and then claimed they saved these deaths. Also available on Amazon etc.

Dr Stefan Lanka a German Virologist PROVED in the German Supreme Court in 2017 using the Measles Virus that there is NOT one single bit of EVIDENCE that viruses exist anywhere in the world – You will find him on the DeansDanes Odysee channel Freedom talk videos along with Dr Tom Cowan and Dr Andrew Kaufman all exposing this and more.

If you go to the Fluoride Free Peel website you will find HUNDREDS of FOI’s from governments, health services etc from all over the world admitting that they do NOT have one single bit of EVIDENCE that a covid virus has been isolated or proven to be real – including from the Scottish Government and UK Heath Service etc.

Some of us have actually been using our brains for decades to see through the LIES and PROPAGANDA – as I have already said you have been getting LIED to and conned since the day you were born about everything – most of what you see in the news is LIES. Lots being put into the news just now to distract the dumb people from what is really going on re these excess deaths and NWO Social Credit System/Digital Currency/Digital Passports etc agenda being brought in.

robbo

Maybe HMRC are waiting to see if they submit these accounts as stated. Because there is still a live police investigation ongoing-they could strike and then and call in forensic accountant’s?

James Jones

Billy Carlin at 9:19 pm.
“toxic Graphene Oxide etc in these “vaccines” that is GROWING inside the veins of the people and causing the clotting etc and how it is the radiation from the 5g and wi-fi etc that is causing it to grow”

The whole post was pure tinfoil-mad-hattery but the 5G comment was a comical highlight.

Casper1066

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!”

Always comes back to bite you.

Andrew Kidd

As a membership organisation the SNP will only pay tax on activities outwith its membership functions. Therefore members subs, donations and fundraising are not taxable. Tax will only be payable on investment income and business activity such as room rental. As interest rates have been negligible for years HMRC hasn’t even bothered to collect tax from some of membership organisations that I prepare accounts for even when returns have been submitted.

Angus Files

Andrew Kidd
Thanks but I’ve never known the HMRC not to bother, they bother about sums they shouldn’t causing great inconvenience and cost to the businesses accommodating the tax inspection is substantial and very inconvenient for very small sums.But by design that’s the way its meant to be.
The SNP haven’t even been logging amount’s received properly and bequests are allegedly missing to name a couple of anomaly’s in the press. But theirs nothing to see move on..I don’t think so. Where’s the keen bully Government boys tax collectors HMRC? No ifs, no buts? the doors should have been chapped long ago.

Billy Carlin

James Jones @ 9.46pm

Typical of one of the brain dead who does not want his cognitive dissonance to upset his brainwashing – you had better tell the SCIENTISTS and DOCTORS that all of the EVIDENCE that they are presenting to expose this GRAPHENE OXIDE is in these vaccines and that the 5G, wi fi etc IS causing it to grow that they are talking rubbish and how you know better with all of your EVIDENCE. You are obviously ignorant of the FACT that 5G etc is military weapons technology and that is what it was developed for in the first place and how mobile phones, wi fi, smart meters etc are causing cancer, diabetes etc etc on their own as is being exposed by experts such as ex RN Electronics Weapons Expert Barry Trower and many others.

charlie

yet again a banana republic without bananas or a republic ffs get them all tae fuck

charlie

Vivian O’Blivion says:
30 June, 2023 at 2:28 pm
Leaving aside desperation, who would apply for the position of CEO advertised with a salary of £95k, knowing full-well that the “business” wouldn’t be able to make that figure the next year?
Umm any one in the cabal, there’s probably a pension clause. I’d do it. And spill the beans. And take a bit of 95K. This is how the governance of Scotland works.

A Scot Abroad

Jesus, this place gets more mental by the day. There’s now a total fruitloop banging on about graphene in vaccines, 5G, wifi and the rest.

If that’s the best that the Indy movement can offer, then call off Indy, because with idiots like him behind the scheme, it’s more likely that he would want iScotland to be spun off into outer space so that it can be properly Indy. But maybe hasn’t thought through the consequences.

CapnAndy

When I was a member of the SNP I’d be sent raffle tickets every year. Never ever did I get any correspondence saying who had won prizes, so here’s the question. Did anyone ever win the car?

Muscleguy

Ah so THAT is why we couldn’t have a HR election called in October, the SNP is too skint to run one. THIS is down to Sturgeon and the cabal she assembled around her. Murrell was running the party note. This is under his watch.

Bunch of fly by night chancers the lot of them. Nae wonder Sturgeon had imposter syndrome. She was winging it.

Frank Anderson

Surely, the bulk of the membership fees were paid by Direct Debit straight to the Party’s bank account. I accept there may be cash paid or one offs. So where did that money go? Are the auditors questioning that the SNP claimed to have X members but didn’t even receive in total the minimum membership fees?
Yes the accounts will be filed on time, however, the can of worms has been opened.

President Xiden

Anton Decadent wrote: “and the bank will not deny his lived experience and accept him as payment.” You should also have added and the bank will close the account of anyone who questions this.

Anton Decadent

President Xiden. Well spotted. What a time to be alive.

Skip_NC

Angus Files @ 11:02pm, I can explain the examples you give. I started in the Inland Revenue about 35 years ago. It may have changed but, in those days, we got five weeks residential training, a few weeks shadowing in the field then another couple of weeks training. Then we were let loose on small businesses. Those who audit the larger businesses (or high-profile political parties) get two years initial training and ongoing professional development.

It is so easy, with about three months training in a complex subject to sit for much longer than one should, just to collect 24 quid. How do I know this? Because I did similar, 35 years ago. No, I’m not proud of it (although I am quite proud at my skill in justifying to my older, wiser boss why I felt it was necessary to do so in the interests of of good tax administration).

Meanwhile, those tasked with reviewing the SNP accounts are much better trained. They will also have the benefit of a tax computation, submitted with the accounts, that will give more detail on the computation of tax liability than we can get from the accounts. Will that cause an audit? We have no idea. However, the decision to do do will be entirely separate from the other problems the SNP has just now. Information from their other travails may inform a decision to audit or not, but the two are not joined at the hip.

Andrew Kidd

According to the SNP’s 2021 accounts the total income that HMRC would be interested in is £23,064. Investment Income £10,550 and Commercial Income £12,514. HMRC will never investigate amounts this low. It’s the Electoral Commission that is the relevant regulator.


  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a (mainly) Scottish political media digest and monitor, which also offers its own commentary. (More)

    Stats: 6,653 Posts, 1,198,479 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • Hatey McHateface on Coping with change: “The Guardian is reporting that genetically engineered wild cattle variants are about to be set loose near Loch Ness. Known…Oct 10, 08:21
    • Hatey McHateface on Coping with change: “Moving my bowels as I type, Geri. And thinking of you 🙂Oct 10, 08:10
    • The Flying Iron of Doom on Coping with change: “Am I the only person who has the green counter thingy at the lower left stuck at 90? Also, yon…Oct 10, 06:34
    • Geri on Coping with change: “Scotland would be as well to leave it in the ground until we’re independent. Oh deary, Nigeria has officially ditched…Oct 10, 00:09
    • Geri on Coping with change: “School meals in England are means tested. Parents have to apply which is the usual English pastime of humiliating &…Oct 9, 22:58
    • Geri on Coping with change: “The only ones to fck up the exit to Brexit were the English. They wanted their cake & eat it.…Oct 9, 22:39
    • Hatey McHateface on Coping with change: “Here you go. A list of the eligibility for free school meals from the UK Gov site: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65fdad5965ca2f00117da947/Free_school_meals.pdf And for…Oct 9, 22:30
    • Geri on Coping with change: “Proclaimers are dedicating Cap in hand tae the six time loser Sturgeon.Oct 9, 22:17
    • Hatey McHateface on Coping with change: “I’m of the opinion the oil & gas is yesterday’s scab. Sure, we can pick at it, but if our…Oct 9, 22:12
    • Geri on Coping with change: “The English don’t even give poor children a free school meal or prescriptions so we’re safe from ever being envious…Oct 9, 21:51
    • Robert Hughes on Coping with change: “Whit ! no Sensational Hatrick Pervy Band , Average WHITE WHITE WHITE Band or Buns n Poses ; nah ,…Oct 9, 21:40
    • Aidan on Coping with change: “If everyone in England got free energy and the people of Scotland were in bondage slavery working to produce it,…Oct 9, 20:44
    • Dan on Coping with change: “In other music news… I hear Twa Ferries Procurement Disaster, Kinlochleven Smelter Fiasco, and The Arsecrack Smeg Muppeteer Instigators of…Oct 9, 20:41
    • Aidan on Coping with change: “You can’t be that stupid, environmental taxes aren’t charged on renewable energy! The taxes falling within the definition of ‘environmental…Oct 9, 20:38
    • Hatey McHateface on Coping with change: “Sure, Dan, but check out the size of the bawbag.Oct 9, 20:37
    • Alf Baird on Coping with change: “The EU has a far bigger population than Norway but the latter’s piped gas still has to be paid for.…Oct 9, 20:35
    • Aidan on Coping with change: “You are right, the right to self-determination applies to all people. I was using the term coloquially to refer to…Oct 9, 20:29
    • Andy Ellis on Coping with change: “International law – such as it is – is far from perfect. There again much the same could be said…Oct 9, 20:29
    • Alf Baird on Coping with change: “Its not unreasonable for a sovereign state to seek recompense for exporting £100bn worth of Kw/hr energy produced to its…Oct 9, 20:27
    • Hatey McHateface on Coping with change: “Ah James, you’re blowing perfect smoke rings yourself and you don’t even know it. Onlookers are astonished at their diameter…Oct 9, 20:26
    • Aidan on Coping with change: “With wisdom like that, what can mere men doOct 9, 20:19
    • Aidan on Coping with change: “Oh dear, I assume the Buckie’s out early today. If the law is what you say it is and no…Oct 9, 20:18
    • Hatey McHateface on Coping with change: “Here’s some links for readers who find Geri’s mince gives them the boak: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Free_Scotland https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product/pirates-of-the-air-the-story-of-radio-free-scotland/ It would be nice to…Oct 9, 20:12
    • Dan on Coping with change: “And there was you moaning about flippant responses yesterday… Yer jist a totes hypocritical bawbag.Oct 9, 20:10
    • Campbell Clansman on Coping with change: “The thing you reference as “international law” that supposedly overrides national constitutions, is of course a big joke. Nobody should…Oct 9, 20:09
    • Andy Ellis on Coping with change: “The right to self determination is constantly misunderstood here. It deliberately does not provide for the rights of people within…Oct 9, 20:04
    • Hatey McHateface on Coping with change: “On buses and trains you mean? Only fair I guess, the ticket price should include a guaranteed seat.Oct 9, 19:54
    • Dan on Coping with change: “Alert readers and eager hunter gatherers of hidden special feature buttons which make the “upgrade” so uber slick to use,…Oct 9, 19:52
    • Andy Ellis on Coping with change: “Spain’s written constitution is immaterial from the POV of self determination, since SD is a jus cogens or peremptory norm…Oct 9, 19:46
    • Alf Baird on Coping with change: “Aye George, a colonial administration is permitted only limited powers and is unable to influence the economic plunder it is…Oct 9, 19:41
  • A tall tale



↑ Top
90
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x