Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs haven't exactly covered themselves in glory in the last 6 months; especially after they lost the personal information of over 25 million people.
Now, it seems they are keen to embarrass themselves further; this time by bankrupting a man over his massive debt...
...of 88p.
Yes, it was claimed that a man who owed HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) such an earth shatteringly huge debt was made bankrupt by them; but only because of a blunder.
HMRC and blunder? Surely not in the same sentence?
It appears that Matt Matharu, from Kent, was bankrupted after HMRC refused to believe he had paid his taxes.
His problems began when he changed careers in 2000 from being a taxi driver to a graphic designer. Tax was automatically deducted from his salary, but although he told HMRC he was no longer self-employed, last year it sent him a bill for £12,000 based on his previous tax records.
Can you imagine the shock when he opened the envelope?
Mr. Matharu said he had told officials that there had been a mistake and expected the tax bill to be withdrawn as he explained:
"You just keep hoping and hoping that someone is going to listen, look at the paperwork you've supplied them, press a button on a computer".
Matt, if only it were that simple...Unsurprisingly, HMRC took him to court and last August he was officially made bankrupt; a month later it finally admitted it had made a mistake and Mr. Matharu's real debt was just 88p.
The bankruptcy was finally overturned last month, but the taxman is still demanding £45 interest on the 88p, and more than £2,000 to pay the Official Receiver's costs for administering the bankruptcy.
Is it us or is that out of order? Especially as it was their mistake in the first place that caused the huge stuff up?
Matthew Elliot, chief executive of the Taxpayers Alliance, said:
"In a court of law people are seen to be innocent until proven guilty, but with the tax authorities they see people as being guilty until proven innocent. "You can supply all the evidence you've got, all your salary slips, your chequebooks, literally everything, but the taxman still comes after you."
HMRC commented on the case:
"Mr. Matharu should have completed a self-assessment return, however we did not explain to him why it was necessary to do this. "We apologise for this and also for not identifying that he had paid tax at source under his PAYE record."
So, it appears to be just another example of HMRC doing what they do best; make mistakes.Do you have any stories about HMRC messing up your finances?
Why not share them in the comments?
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