Question Author
also from the Telegraph
A 64-year-old pensioner who faced a shock £10,000 tax bill because of blunders made by HM Revenue & Customs has won a belated refund following the intervention of The Telegraph.
The case, published today on telegraph.co.uk/money, is a major victory for our consumer champion, Jessica Gorst-Williams, and highlights the appalling treatment of victims of the taxman’s own errors – and its increasingly stringent refusal to stick to its own rule book.
Every week, dozens of people enter disputes with HMRC over surprise bills arising from paperwork errors that were out of their control. Often these relate to tax that should have been automatically deducted from their salary or pension.
Typically, a mistake on their tax code meant the underpayment passed under the radar at the Revenue, with the taxpayer none the wiser. Millions of these complex codes are sent out at this time of year.
Errors can creep into the codes, which apply to the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system of automatic taxation, when someone has multiple sources of income, such as various pensions, or because of a change in employment circumstances.