Reply To: Delays, what delays?
peterdelamotheTax credit chaos
THE government has admitted that 1m families have been overpaid tax credits and will have to repay the money. The payments were based on out-of-date figures. Labour has also admitted that fewer than half of the 5.75m people entitled to new credits will get them on time this month.
Comment: Naomi Caine: There is no credit due to the taxman
IS IT just me, or is the Inland Revenue totally inept? It admits that it cannot always get our tax calculations right when we send in our self- assessment forms. It took forever to get its online filing system sorted out and then went on to bungle the Serps rebates of some taxpayers.
Now it is making a pig’s ear of the new tax credits.
People cannot get through to the helpline; there are delays in the payment of the credits — and some families have been given the wrong amount. It doesn’t inspire you with confidence, does it? The Revenue is set to crack down even harder on people who file their returns late, or do not pay the right amount of tax. It can therefore expect no sympathy from the taxpayer over this latest fiasco.
The unforgiving system of penalties and interest charges for late payment of money due should apply to the oppressor as well as the victim.