Tuesday 3 February 2009

Amnesty

AmnestyNow here is a piece of news that may be of interest to a few of you, "Stop Hitting Me Officer" especially who recently commented:

"Filing online?

I just put mine in a buff-coloured envelope earlier today and filed it at the Postal Orifice with a letter explaining "1 month + 8 emails + 12 telephone calls = quite enough effort trying to be allowed to register to file online so herewith paper..."

When the "penalty" arrives in the post I'll load the Purdey with buckshot and invite them to come and collect in person
...."

Anyhoo, it transpires that more than a handful of people are a tad "miffed" that HMRC had not adequately publicised the fact that there was a 21 January deadline for registering for pin codes, in order to be able to file on line. Moira Stewart's nice little adverts reminding people about the 31 January online filing deadline failed to mention that rather important point.

Would this not be a cause for complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority?

Notwithstanding any official complaint to ASA, HMRC has been forced to issue an amnesty to those who missed the cut off because they registered for a pin after 21 January.

In true HMRC style, the tardy taxpayers will still receive the £100 penalty notice. However, HMRC will not enforce the fine if an appeal is lodged on the basis that a pin was not received in time.

This probably should help "Stop Hitting Me Officer". However, as those of you who are regulars will know (and have read his numerous comments on this site), he registered for a pin code well before 21 January and, despite repeated attempts (phone, email, letter etc), never received one.

Tax does have to be taxing.

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

2 comments:

  1. Moira is a very nice lady of course, but to me she just sounds totally bored. I don't suppose it's easy to make tax exciting.

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  2. Moira is as lost to me now as Adam Hart-Davis.

    If either were to dress in a nightie, sprout wings, blow a dirty great golden trumpet and announce the second coming of some god then I couldn't take them seriously.

    My sympathy has always, always, gone out to actors and media-types who have had to take to advertising nappies or incontinence pads or something realy horrible like SEAT cars. However, even a cold and hungry actor or media type should have some baseline standards.

    Obviously, neither Moira with her "come to bed" knees nor Adam with his "I should be in a hospital bed without my knees" knees, have any dignity or self-respect left.

    Is there not some Equity-funded charity to take care of these poor people in harsh times and to lift them from the sewers, maybe to read great tracts of good and holy works to them until they no longer seek to make pacts with the HMRC?

    ReplyDelete