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Taxpayers seeking inner peace may need an activation code

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‘Do it today and take a load off your mind’, says HMRC

HMRC has reminded taxpayers who are completing an online tax return for the first time that they will need to register for online services, and that it can take up to seven working days for an activation code to reach them in the post.

‘HMRC found that people often felt a real sense of relief, or peace of mind, once they sent in their return – like a weight being lifted from their shoulders. A new ad campaign encourages people who still haven’t sent their return to “do it today, pay what you owe and take a load off your mind”, so they can experience “inner peace”,’ the department said in a press release yesterday.

HMRC launched the ‘inner peace’ campaign on Twitter last month, leading some followers to believe that the department’s Twitter account had been hacked. The Daily Telegraph quoted an HMRC spokesman as saying that the campaign has been developed to ‘touch on the emotions that HMRC found people typically experience after they have filled in their tax return’.

Outstanding 2011/12 returns must be sent online to HMRC by 31 January. ‘If you send your return after this date, you won’t attain inner peace, as you’ll receive a £100 penalty – even if you have no tax to pay or you pay your tax on time,’ HMRC said.

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