Sharing information?

You couldn’t make it up. Dave Hartnett, boss of HM Revenue and Customs, has got flak recently for agreeing deals with firms like Vodafone, allowing them to pay a tiny proportion of the tax that’s due, presumably on the basis that something’s better than nothing. After a lifetime working for HMRC, ending up as the country’s leading tax official, Hartnett decides that it’s time to stop. Fair enough.  Time, maybe, to take up bowls or grow some roses. But wait. He’s got an even better offer. Deloitte, the accountancy firm which acts as auditors for Vodafone and Starbucks, is taking him on as a consultant, although the government assures us that he won’t be sharing information about how to avoid UK tax. Yeah, right.