Post office strike could hit tax penalty revenues

A postal strike next week could cost the Treasury £100m due to waiving the penalty fee for late taxes.

With the 31 October paper tax filing deadline looming, HM Revenue & Customs has confirmed that it would waive the £100 penalty fee for late payments, with one million returns expected to be late, reports The Times.

Around 10% of the 9.2 million returns are estimated to be filed late. But the 920,000 that would normally be fined £100 by the taxman would probably be able to appeal successfully.

"There is an existing provision for this... If you post it on 25 October and there is a strike, then that will have been done in good time so your penalty will be reduced to nil," said an HMRC spokesman.

Self assessment filing deadlines have regularly faced the threat of public sector strike action.

Further reading:

Strike action closes Revenue and Customs offices