UK NEWS http://www.british-expat-forums.com/forums/index.php Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:31:48 +0100 60 http://www.british-expat-forums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=131583
Lorraine Thorpe was convicted of taking part with 41-year-old Paul Clarke in the murders of Desmond Thorpe and Rosalyn Hunt last August.

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The unnamed lecturer wrote an impassioned email to Rev Terry Jones at the weekend describing 'boisterous protesters' condemning the pastor outside his classroom.

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Tax fiasco 'may be just tip of the iceberg': HMRC owns up to 18million more blunders
By Becky Barrow and James Coney
Last updated at 7:38 AM on 8th September 2010

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A backlog of nearly 18million tax errors threatens to land hundreds of thousands more families and pensioners with a shock tax demand.


The revelation comes as HM Revenue & Customs faces a revolt over plans to claw back an average of £1,428 from 1.4million taxpayers who have paid too little tax through no fault of their own.


But experts fear this figure could be the tip of the iceberg.


Demanding tax: The first batch of letters demanding cash to be repaid will start to arriving this week

Many more people could be hit by unexpected tax demands as the Government's tax collectors plough though a queue of 17.8million unresolved tax problems dating back six years.


The details held by HMRC are so scant that the department has no idea how many people are affected, or how much money is involved.


As the tax crisis deepened, Tory MP Michael Fallon called on HMRC to show 'leniency' to victims of Britain's chaotic tax system.


Enlarge Mr Fallon, a member of the Treasury Select Committee, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'There may well be a case for waiving amounts that are relatively small.


'And certainly I think people should be entitled to a bit of grace before they have to make these repayments [if HMRC claims they have underpaid tax in previous years].


'You can't expect people to have set aside money for this.


'I think the Revenue has got to be lenient about that.'


The 18million 'open' tax cases occurred after HMRC worked out that the amount of tax someone has paid does not match up with how much they have earned.


Every year, a problem occurs with about one in three workers who have their tax deducted by their employer through the pay-asyouearn system (PAYE).


But HMRC's £389million new computer system went into meltdown, and the number where the problem could not be solved spiralled out of control.


In 2005, there were 7million open cases. By April this year, there were 18.2million.


Since June, a team of 300 tax investigators have been clearing the backlog.


When these problems are resolved, a worker may be found to have paid too much or too little tax.


Those who have paid too much tax will be entitled to a refund. But those who have not paid enough will be issued with a demand to pay more, just like the 5.7million people caught up in the latest HMRC fiasco.


Legally, HMRC can go back through six years of tax records to chase workers for money owed.


Matt Boyle, from the magazine Payroll World which uncovered the tax errors, said: 'The demands sent out this week are just the tip of the iceberg.


'Millions of employees are facing the prospect that they will be hit with a large tax bill because of HMRC's inability to match information supplied to them by employers, accountants and largeprofessional payroll departments.


'This has escalated over many years and as it has not been properly addressed, the errors and mismatches have been compounded.'


David Gauke, Exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said: 'One of the reasons this has happened is that in the past cases like these were simply parked year after year after year.


'Now we are dealing with them so the tax system is fair for all.'


One of the main reasons for the backlog is that the tax system has not moved with the times, and is better suited to an era when a worker had one job throughout his or her career.


Experts believe the old computer system failed to cope with the frequency with which workers now change jobs, or reflect that people may have several jobs or sources of income.


Often tax inspectors were unable to find the files they needed.


Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Lord Oakeshott said: 'The backlog of cases just shows what a mess HMRC is in.




'If they can't even get the bread and butter business of dealing with PAYE right then how are ordinary hard-pressed taxpayers to have any confidence in HMRC dealing with tax avoiders?


'This is a damning indictment of the way HMRC has been run by in the past politicians and internal management of HMRC. If it was a business, it would have gone bust years ago.'




On Saturday, the Daily Mail revealed HMRC had admitted that 5.7million people had paid too much, or too little, tax in the past two years.


More...

• CHAOS AT THE REVENUE: As 1.4 million Britons sit on a ticking tax bomb, we look at who could be affected and show how to fight back
• How to fight the taxman's demands (thisismoney.co.uk)

Some 4.3million of these will get an average windfall of £419 from having paid too much.


But 1.4million will face an average bill of £1,428 for underpaid tax.


Tax experts are urging those threatened with a demand to use a tax rule called A19: Extra-Statutory Concession to get the money written off.


Case study: Keith Watson from Walsall has been ordered my HM Revenue & Customs to pay £300 but he intends to fight the case, as outlined below



Today's Money Mail gives a guide to how you can use these rules and publishes a template letter.


An HMRC spokesman said: 'While in some cases concession may be available, our experience suggests that this will only be available in a small minority of cases.'


Those caught up in HMRC's tax blunder were warned yesterday to beware of fraudsters.


There are fears that cheats will try to take advantage of the current chaos by sending out emails pretending to be from HMRC, asking for bank details so that rebates can be paid in.


However HMRC said it would never send an email to inform a customer about a tax rebate or ask for bank details.


Letters are sent, followed by a cheque. It urged people not to visit the website contained in any of the emails, not to disclose any personal information or bank or credit card details.


• Have you been told your tax has been miscalculated? Email b.barrow@dailymail.co.uk



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Ian Cameron is described as 'seriously ill' after suffering a stroke and heart complications. His son is rushing across the Channel to be at his bedside.

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They were meant to make those frazzled family trips to the supermarket a little bit easier - but a survey has found undeserving shoppers are hogging family spaces.

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