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In this week's Editorial Mark McLaughlin recounts how HM Revenue & Customs came round and threatened to take his television... I returned home from work on Tuesday evening to find a hand delivered letter from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The letter stated that a 'field force agent' had called today to levy distraint on my goods and assets. It warned: "You must pay now. If you do not, I will call again to levy distraint. This means I will seize your possessions and arrange for them to be removed and sold at public auction" and "If you are not in when I next call and you have still not paid in full, I will consider taking other legal action, including insolvency proceedings... ...starting proceedings in the county court to recover the unpaid debt." However, HMRC's approach was sadly flawed in certain respects. The debt in question was a PAYE liability for a company in which I not a director or a major shareholder (I am actually the company secretary). In addition, my home is not a business address of the company. It is unfortunate that HMRC did not take the trouble to pick up the telephone to check these basic facts before turning up on my doorstep without warning, to pursue me for debts of a company with which I have no involvement in its business activities. If that wasn't bad enough, the liability in question was not even outstanding! Apparently, the tax reference number used by the company was incorrect, but the payment was acknowledged when a company representative contacted HMRC, who checked their computer records - pity they didn't do that before 'sending the boys round' to my house! By the way, how much was the 'liability' in question, and how long had it been 'outstanding'? £100,000 and 12 months, perhaps? Not quite - it was £1,900 and was for PAYE Month 4, ended 5 August 2011! Not only is HMRC's approach heavy-handed in my view, but it is totally disproportionate to the amount of tax at stake. Surely they have bigger fish to fry? A final request to HMRC - next time you come round to take away my settee, please make sure that my wife is sitting on it (only joking, dear!).
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About The Author  Mark McLaughlin is TaxationWeb's Co-Founder, Director and Technical Editor. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and a member of the Association of Taxation Technicians and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. He lectures on tax subjects, is co-author of Tottel's IHT Annual and Ray & McLaughlin's IHT Planning, and Editor of Tottel's Tax Planning and Annual series. Mark's work has also been published in Taxation, Tax Adviser, Tolley's Practical Tax, Tax Journal and Simon's Weekly Tax Intelligence. Since January 1998, Mark has been a consultant in his own tax practice, Mark McLaughlin Associates, which provides tax consultancy and support services to professional firms. He publishes a regular 'Tax Update' e-Newsletter for clients and other professional firms. To receive future copies, contact Mark via his website. |
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Article Added Sunday, 02 October 2011 | 598 Hits |
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