I am not sure how many of us worry away of an evening as to whether they risk erring by referring to HMRC as a ‘they’ or an ‘it’? However, judging from a recent debate on LinkedIn, this is a concern, at least for some. And there is very definitely a risk, to which this piece owes its origin, that if you are unwise enough to reply to such a debate, Tax Journal’s eagle-eyed editor may just reach out and (metaphorically) tap you on the shoulder...
Hopefully, though, not many (irrespective of whether they venture on to LinkedIn) will feel quite as strongly as the early Quaker Thomas Elwood (1639–1714) with respect to the correct use of the singular or plural, as he fulminated against:
‘the corrupt and unsound form of speaking in the plural number to a single person, … contrary to the pure, plain, and single language of truth … which had always been used … from the oldest record of time till corrupt men … brought in that false and senseless way of speaking you to one, which has since corrupted the modern languages, and hath greatly debased the spirits and depraved the manners of men’ (The History of Thomas Ellwood, written by himself and published posthumously (ed. H Morley, 1885)).
And so, what is the correct usage when referring to HMRC?
The answer seems to lie in the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 ('2005 Act') which:
The 2005 Act distinguishes between:
Section 8(1) of the 2005 Act inserted s 5A into the Ministers of the Crown Act 1975 ('1975 Act'). The 1975 Act operates as follows:
Ultimately, the Commissioners may be said to be consubstantial. The Commissioners:
Occam’s razor may, however, point the way to a conclusion. Given the breadth of the functions conferred on the Commissioners on 18 April 2005 and also that the phrase ‘Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ refers to the Commissioners and the ‘officers of Revenue and Customs’, it seems that HMRC is generally a ‘they’ (rather than an ‘it’).
By way of a little light relief after all that, this advice from a member of the Scriblerus Club (1727), an informal association of authors, may serve as a refreshing tonic:
‘The expression ... must not be always grammatical, lest it appear pedantic …; nor too clear, for fear it become vulgar; for obscurity … throws an oracular dignity upon a piece which hath no meaning.’
If, therefore, you are one of those inclined to worry about whether HMRC is a ‘they’, an ‘it’ or even a ‘deemed it’, I hope this may help settle the point, at least on the balance of probabilities.
I am not sure how many of us worry away of an evening as to whether they risk erring by referring to HMRC as a ‘they’ or an ‘it’? However, judging from a recent debate on LinkedIn, this is a concern, at least for some. And there is very definitely a risk, to which this piece owes its origin, that if you are unwise enough to reply to such a debate, Tax Journal’s eagle-eyed editor may just reach out and (metaphorically) tap you on the shoulder...
Hopefully, though, not many (irrespective of whether they venture on to LinkedIn) will feel quite as strongly as the early Quaker Thomas Elwood (1639–1714) with respect to the correct use of the singular or plural, as he fulminated against:
‘the corrupt and unsound form of speaking in the plural number to a single person, … contrary to the pure, plain, and single language of truth … which had always been used … from the oldest record of time till corrupt men … brought in that false and senseless way of speaking you to one, which has since corrupted the modern languages, and hath greatly debased the spirits and depraved the manners of men’ (The History of Thomas Ellwood, written by himself and published posthumously (ed. H Morley, 1885)).
And so, what is the correct usage when referring to HMRC?
The answer seems to lie in the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 ('2005 Act') which:
The 2005 Act distinguishes between:
Section 8(1) of the 2005 Act inserted s 5A into the Ministers of the Crown Act 1975 ('1975 Act'). The 1975 Act operates as follows:
Ultimately, the Commissioners may be said to be consubstantial. The Commissioners:
Occam’s razor may, however, point the way to a conclusion. Given the breadth of the functions conferred on the Commissioners on 18 April 2005 and also that the phrase ‘Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ refers to the Commissioners and the ‘officers of Revenue and Customs’, it seems that HMRC is generally a ‘they’ (rather than an ‘it’).
By way of a little light relief after all that, this advice from a member of the Scriblerus Club (1727), an informal association of authors, may serve as a refreshing tonic:
‘The expression ... must not be always grammatical, lest it appear pedantic …; nor too clear, for fear it become vulgar; for obscurity … throws an oracular dignity upon a piece which hath no meaning.’
If, therefore, you are one of those inclined to worry about whether HMRC is a ‘they’, an ‘it’ or even a ‘deemed it’, I hope this may help settle the point, at least on the balance of probabilities.
