Brit Dee, Contributor HM Revenue and Customs, the UK
government’s tax and customs department, has been accused of
encouraging schoolkids to report tax evaders in their local
area. The allegation relates to a document available on the HMRC
website, used as a ‘Citizenship’ module in schools to teach kids
why they should become responsible taxpayers. Page 2 of the Key
Stage 4 lesson plan, designed for use by 14 to 16 year olds,
involves a classroom discussion in which students debate
“whether it is good to pay the tax we do, considering the
benefits we receive. If it is good, then why do people try not
to pay?” The teacher must then ask what students “think of those
who refuse to pay tax or try and defraud the benefits system?
Can they think of any example they may have heard of in their
local area?” The independent thinktank Civitas, an institute for
the study of civil society, has described the lesson as
reminiscent of George Orwell’s novel 1984, in which kids snoop
on their parents and report them to Big Brot