Wednesday, 27 January 2010
HMRC Dies Another Day
Another day, another HMRC IT cock up.
Hot on the heels to the avalanche of incorrect coding notices being sent out by HMRC, comes news in the Yorkshire Post of another IT related blunder by HMRC.
Seemingly 186,115 injured armed forces veterans and war widows have received letters from HMRC telling them that they will be taxed at 20% on their war pensions (war pensions actually have a not taxed (NT) status).
The letters were sent in error, as a result of "computer error" (isn't it funny how computers are always blamed, yet it is a human that designs and programmes them?).
Will HMRC be correcting this error?
Yes...but only after the ex servicemen and their widows contact HMRC first (ie HMRC will not correct the error automatically).
All very well, if the veterans are fully fit and have nothing better to do with their lives!
However, there are those who are very unwell (mentally and physically), who will stand for them against HMRC?
Anyone receiving a war pension, who is concerned, can call the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency SPVA helpline on 0800 169 2277.
Given the fact that HMRC is snowed under with queries/complaints etc, and apparently grinding to a halt, how long will this take to rectify?
Tax does have to be taxing.
Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations
What is TAXWISE?
TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.
To find out more, please use this link Taxwise
Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.
Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies
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"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
"The letters were sent in error, as a result of "computer error" (isn't it funny how computers are always blamed, yet it is a human that designs and programmes them?)."
ReplyDeleteThe trouble here is that the people who actually deal with the public will probably get the blame for entering details incorrectly again. The amount of problems that seem to be appearing recently and being related to computer software makes me wonder who was involved with the design and development of the systems. Do not get me wrong, all computer systems can have problems but I am afraid the budgets involved in public sector IT projects make it unacceptable for this sort of problem to keep happening. Now if it is claimed that the system is working as it should then the people who specified the project need to be held accountable.
I spoke to Army pension dept and they advised me that they are going to ignore the incorrect codes anyway and are totally fed up with the shambles that is hmrc.
ReplyDelete