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HMRC stays in the news
They do say that no publicity is bad publicity its just how you handle it that makes the difference.
I don't feel sorry for HMRC's latest bit of bad publicity, suggesting that they are going to write off £1.5billion of old, unpaid taxes. A whistleblower inside HMRC confirmed that the focus was on debts that were under two years old and on refunds due but now HMRC spokesperson says that this is not the case.
But they would have to say that wouldn't they?
This is what the whistle blower said last week:
“For each underpayment there are thousands of pounds owed. Underpayments are very frustrating.
“If we had the chance to sort it out three years ago we could have recovered the money. It is now likely to be written off if it's over two years - we're not looking at underpayments beyond two years.”
Then the "official spokesman" said,
"No tax is being written off. We are simply prioritising repayments to vulnerable groups.” (Doesn't this mean that they won't be focussing on chasing the debts?)
“While we are reviewing the cases of underpayment, no decision has been made on these cases,”
“It's a provisional period, where staff have been asked to review underpayments. If they find someone who has underpaid then that is set aside for a future decision.
“We are going to be looking at how best to deal with these. We are going to look at the specifics of each case and apply a normal criteria in due course.”
So my advice is simple:
- If you get an email from HMRC saying you are due a refund, ignore it. HMRC DOES NOT COMMUNICATE BY EMAIL. It is an attempt at phishing
- If you get a demand from HMRC for unpaid taxes, send it to your accountant or to me if you don't have one. In their money saving strategy, HMRC no longer send copies of things they send to the taxpayer to their nominated tax agents. There are often time limits on things coming from HMRC so do it straightaway.
- If you KNOW you are due a refund - get on the phone ASAP.
I wonder what the next challenge the beleagured HMRC will be facing?
JohnF
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