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HMRC’s latest outburst on many of my trust cases has riled me intensely and I am writing to the Chancellor of the Exchequer about it.
It concerns HMRC’s debt management’s team harassing us for 31 July 2009 payments that are not due.
We did not feel it necessary to complete SA303 forms where SA900 returns were lodged electronically before 31 July 2009 as a statement on the return is one and the same thing.
Furthermore, as SA900s are not being processed, I don’t suppose SA303s are being processed either. Some of the returns that require HMRC to make a repayment had been lodged in early June, but they are still refusing to process these returns and, furthermore, now resort to practices that are clearly outside the law.
HMRC Nottingham Trusts is aware of the problems its delays are causing, but is clearly unable to stop HMRC’s debt management’s team harassing us.
Equally, I have been advised by HMRC’s debt management team that it is not allowed to check the position with HMRC Nottingham Trusts and instead has to collect the tax that isn’t due, no matter what.
Alan G Poole, A & J Tax Management Services, Berkshire.
The following edited points are taken from Mr Poole’s aforementioned letter to the Chancellor
- Why is it that there are no HMRC procedures in place to stop HMRC Nottingham Trusts office from instructing HMRC’s Debt Collection Office to pursue a fictitious tax liability?
- Why is it that once HMRC’s Debt Collection Office is advised that there is a widespread administrative problem, it continues to pursue fictitious liabilities?
- Why am I told by a member of staff at HMRC’s Debt Collection Office that it is undoubtedly less costly to pursue fictitious tax liabilities than to stop this from happening?
- Why is it that no member of HMRC’s staff knows to whom to refer to get incorrect procedures changed especially when pursuing a debt which has no legal foundation?
- Why is HMRC Nottingham Trusts still processing trust tax returns manually? This causes considerable inefficiency and waste for the taxpayer.
- Why has the culture of HMRC changed to encourage taxpayers to complain and claim for compensation rather than want to put something right straight away?
- Would HMRC’s acceptance of an incorrect payment contravene money laundering regulations?
- To quote Lord Carter’s report, HMRC systems must be robust and fit for purpose and must ensure that extensive testing is carried out before the systems are implemented. Why has this part of the report not been complied with?
