Teresa Chance 
Corporate Governance 
04/52 
100 Parliament Street 
 
 
London  SW1A 2BQ 
 
By email to: 
 
 
Mr J Cross 
Tel 
  
 
[FOI #15219 email] 
 
 
Fax 
020 7147 0666 
 
 
 
Email          
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Date 
24 August 2009 
www.hmrc.gov.uk 
 
Our Ref 
FOI 1901/09 
 
Your Ref 
           
 
________ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000 
 
Dear Mr Cross, 
 
I refer to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request on 26 July 2009 for the following 
information: 
 
“a list of the titles of all current instructions, manuals, policies or guidance issued by 
HMRC not already published in full on the HMRC website that in any way suggest 
treating any of the following categories of people differently to other taxpayers: 
 
     (1) Government Ministers 
 
     (2) MPs 
 
     (3) Members of the House of Lords 
 
     (4) Senior Civil Servants 
 
     (5) Members of the Royal Family 
 
     (6) High profile individuals ('Celebrities') 
 
I am not asking for any person data you might hold in relation to individual tax 
payers.” 
 
 
Information is available in large print, audio tape and Braille formats. 
Type Talk service prefix number – 18001 
 
 
 
 
 

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We have interpreted your request for “guidance” as meaning internal guidance issued to 
HMRC staff and officials in relation to the tax treatment of individuals in the categories you 
mention.   I can confirm that HMRC does not hold this information.  There are no internal 
instructions to HMRC staff and officials which deal with specific issues relating to the tax 
liabilities of the categories of people you refer to. 
 
In relation to the categories of person at (1) and (2) HMRC produces a booklet for Members 
of Parliament and Government Ministers entitled “MPs, Ministers and Tax” to help them 
understand the issues relevant to their tax affairs, including the statutory provisions that 
apply specifically to them.  This can be found on the HMRC website via the following link: 
   
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/freedom/mps-leaflet.pdf 
   
In relation to category (5), the information you request would be covered by the exemption 
provided in section 44 of the FOI Act, which relates to information covered by a statutory 
duty of confidentiality.  However, the arrangements under which HM the Queen pays tax 
voluntarily, and HRH the Prince of Wales pay tax voluntarily on his income from the Duchy 
of Cornwall, are set out in the Memorandum of Understanding which forms part of the Royal 
Trustees Report laid before Parliament in September 1993.  A copy of the Memorandum is 
attached for your information.  Outside the terms of the FOI Act, since the information can be 
inferred from the contents of the Memorandum, we confirm that Members of the Royal 
Family other than The Queen and The Prince of Wales are subject to tax in the ordinary 
way.  
 
There are no specific statutory provisions relating to the classes of individual in categories 
(3), (4) and (6).  
 
In your request, you asked for assistance in making future requests about these categories 
of people.  Since HMRC does not hold the information you have requested, I am unable to 
provide any tables, lists or indexes of the type you mention.   
 
If you are not happy with this reply you may request a review by either emailing 
‘foi[email address].uk’, or by writing to the HMRC FOI Team, Room 4/52, 100 
Parliament Street, London SW1A 2BQ. You must request a review within two months of the 
date of this letter. It would assist our review if you set out which aspects of the reply concern 
you and why you are dissatisfied. 
 
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you may apply directly to the 
Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information Commissioner cannot 
make a decision unless you have exhausted the review procedure provided by HMRC. He 
can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, 
Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, or by e-mail: [email address]. 
 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
 
Teresa Chance 

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