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17 Oct 2011
THE TAXMAN has issued a record number of fines for late tax returns, new figures have shown.
HM Revenue & Customs has fined 1.5 million for filing late self-assessment returns since January, up 8% from the previous year and 56% from five years ago.
Further reading
Under the new penalty regime introduced this year, taxpayers can be fined £100 if they submit a day late, with £10 a day added after three months up to a maximum of £900. A further £300 fine or 5% of the tax due will be added after six months and the one year mark.
Neil Whyte, tax partner at PKF, told the Scotsman: "HMRC will catch as many of the unwary as the devious, resulting in much greater revenues for the Treasury without George Osborne having to visibly raise tax rates."
The fines are levied even where no tax is due and the fine will apply next year even when HMRC owes the taxpayer a refund, Whyte added.
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Visitor comments Add your comment
New fines are disproportionate and are a Revenue Stream
"HMRC will catch as many of the unwary as the devious" is this how a government should treat its citizens? Owe nothing, possibly be due a refund and still fined a minimum of £100 and possibly £900 if three months late. I await with interest how many reminder letters will be sent out during the 3 months for an anticipated Return that is not received. If the P35 late filing fines are anything to go by none will be sent which will maximise the HMRC "Take". Neil is correct in that the "take" is what these fines are all about nothing else. Tony Margaritelli - Chair ICPA
Posted by: Tony Margaritelli, 17 Oct 2011 | 11:12
Reverse penalties?
Will HMRC also get tough with the incompetent parts of their system that withhold taxpayers funds for years at a time due to administrative backlogs and then offer no compensation and a pittance in interest.
CIS refund arrears of 4 years are well known to the dispute teams.
But we do not get 100% compensation for their miskeying .....
Posted by: Eleanor, 19 Oct 2011 | 20:30