Plans to pay tax by credit card slated
Consumer bodies warn that proposal will deepen debt crisis
A plan to allow the payment of tax by credit card has been criticised by
consumer bodies, who fear it will deepen the debt crisis.
Draft legislation published yesterday will enable taxpayers to use credit
cards to pay tax for the first time.
‘On one hand it is a modern way to pay, but for the many who are
over-indebted, it might be a temptation too far to use credit to pay their tax
bill,’ James Ketchell from the Consumer Credit Counselling Service told the
Times.
HM Revenue & Customs said it would be ‘circumspect’ in the way it offered
the credit card service.
Advisers expressed concern about the safety of credit card data if the
proposal went ahead.
Further reading:
Read
the proposals from HMRC here