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Warning over tax error fraudsters 10/9/10
It is feared that island taxpayers could be targeted by fraudsters after errors made by HM Revenue and Customs left up to six million people across the country facing an unexpected tax bill.
It is understood that that 4.3 million taxpayers have paid too much, but 1.4 million
have underpaid and will receive demands for the money before Christmas. The average
amount of tax owed is £1,428.
The chaos has created an opportunity for fraudsters to exploit the confusion. They
may adapt a common e-
The SNP has led demands in the House of Commons for action, and received an assurance
from the Treasury that HMRC will only contact individuals affected by the tax code
errors by letter and never email.
Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil said: “Regrettably, some very unscrupulous fraudsters
out there who will try to cash-
“Local residents need to be alert to scam emails
purporting to come from HMRC that offer ‘tax rebates’ in exchange for bank details.
“When the SNP raised this in parliament the Treasury Minister confirmed that HMRC
will not contact taxpayers affected by the blunder via email or telephone, nor will
they ask for bank details.
“Any local residents who are affected should be aware of this, and anyone has any
concerns I stand ready to pursue matters with the authorities on their behalf.
“This
tax fiasco will cause real hardship for a great many households, through absolutely
no fault of their own, and the Treasury must now make every effort to ensure that
people are not exploited by fraudsters.”
Concerns about the general situation and
demands for assurances over the scale of the error, and repayments faced by millions
of taxpayers, the SNP were first to call for an emergency statement in parliament.
SNP Westminster Treasury spokesperson Stewart Hosie said:“Millions of taxpayers face
the prospect of an unexpected tax bill through no fault of their own, and yet we
have not had answers to the most basic of questions.
“We do yet have absolute certainty
on how many people are affected or precisely how much money is involved. We must
have clarity on the full extent of these errors, and assurances that taxpayers who
face demands, particularly those whose financial circumstances have deteriorated,
will not be hounded or face hardship through no fault of their own.
“We need to get
the bottom of how and when this problem occurred, when Ministers knew about it, and
what action they are taking. It is essential that taxpayers can have confidence in
the PAYE system, and Ministers must now get a grip.
“It does seem that this was another
mess made under the last Labour government, and it is yet another example of the
financial disarray left by Gordon Brown’s administration.
“This whole debacle further underlines the need for Scotland to have control over
taxation.”