Misleading letters sent out by HM Revenue and Customs have caused confusion for thousands of people, Whitley Stimpson tax expert Owen Kyffin warned this week.
He said: “The situation is causing distress and extra work for many individuals and companies, and taxpayers would be well advised to check their tax bill.”
Owen, who is a director of the leading independent accountants and business advisers with offices in Banbury, Bicester and High Wycombe, said: “I am alarmed by reports that HMRC has admitted that it has collected the wrong amount of tax from more than five million people in the 12 months to April 2014.”
Information leaked from HMRC claimed that many thousands of people have either paid too much tax or have received rebates by cheque.
Owen said: “The scale of this blunder appears to be enormous. It appears also that people who have queried their bill and received cheques for overpayment have been told they should not cash them. If people have already done this they have been warned that the HMRC office will claw back money if a mistake was made.
“The situation is chaotic and points to a flaw in the new £270 million real-time information system installed by the HMRC, which was supposed to cut out errors.
“The HMRC is claiming that the letters are annual statements and that no-one has been asked to pay any extra tax. However, I would strongly advise anyone who has received this letter to check their tax payment and coding notice.”
Whitley Stimpson advises on all aspects of tax affairs and Owen Kyffin can be contacted on 01295 220914 or owenK@whitleystimpson.co.uk
