HMRC guidance could see rebates held ‘illegally’
New note recommends inspectors withhold tax repayments without opening official inquiries
New guidance could see HMRC withholding millions of pounds of income tax
rebates unlawfully, it has been claimed.
For self-assessed income tax payers, guidance note EM1609 tell inspectors
they can retain money while taking a closer look at the case without opening a
formal inquiry, reports the
Daily
Mail.
However, tax experts such as Grant Thornton’s Mike Warburton and the
Chartered Institute on Taxation’s John Whiting claim there is no basis in law
that allows inspectors to do this.
“If the Revenue wants, willy-nilly, to hang on to people’s money, it should
ask Parliament to change the law,” said Warburton.
An HMRC spokesman denied the guidance was illegal and that the note “broadens
the options” available to tax inspectors.