HMRC pays out £1.2m for single error
Taxman refuses to disclose details about £1.2m payout to "group of taxpayers"
AN ERROR by HM Revenue & Customs led to a single compensation payout of £1.2m to a group of taxpayers in the 2009/10 tax year.
A parliament answer from Exchequer secretary to the Treasury David Gauke on 7 July revealed that HMRC made a single, exceptional payment of £1.2m as part of its ex-gratia financial redress policy. The policy in total cost £3.74m that year, compared with £1.41m in 2010/11.
HMRC refused to provide details of the payment following a freedom of information request by Accountancy Age. It claimed that disclosing details would breach client confidentiality.
The reply to the request stated: “What I can tell you is that the £1.2m was a single payment, paid in respect of a group of customers. We believe, however, that providing any more detail might breach our strict legal obligations to maintain taxpayer confidentiality, which is why the information is being withheld.”