HMRC has reminded taxpayers who have not yet filed their 2010/11 tax return that the filing deadline is only a week away. Those who file a return after 31 January will receive a £100 penalty even if there is no tax to pay or the tax liability is paid on time, HMRC said.
An email sent to HMRC staff by the Public and Commercial Services union ‘urged staff to support a “full day strike” on 31 January against what it describes as an attempt to “privatise” the HMRC call centres,’ the Daily Telegraph reported on Saturday.
The paper quoted an ‘HMRC source’ as saying that the department would make sure that ‘no one is disadvantaged as a result of the action’.
David Gauke, the Exchequer Secretary, said in a Commons written answer this week that HMRC ‘has well-established contingency plans in place and is doing everything possible to support customers on the self-assessment online filing deadline’. If a taxpayer would have submitted a return on time but failed to so ‘as a direct result of a failing or delay by HMRC’, HMRC would accept that there is a reasonable excuse and cancel the penalty, he said.
HMRC staff staged 30-minute walkouts last week in protest at the appointment of two private companies to run year-long call handling trials at tax credit contact centres. In response to that action, HMRC said it was not privatising existing HMRC contact centre jobs but was ‘determined to improve’ its service.
More than 570,000 people filed a return online on 31 January 2011. HMRC warned that while its systems can cope with large volumes of online returns, at busier periods it may take people 'a little longer' to complete their return.
HMRC has repeated its warning to taxpayers not to fall victim to ‘phishing’ emails sent out by fraudsters in the run-up to the deadline. ‘We only ever contact customers who are due a tax refund in writing by post. We currently don’t use telephone calls, emails or external companies in these circumstances,’ said Joan Wood, Director of HMRC Online and Digital.
The department has also issued a further reminder to pension scheme administrators that 2010/11 returns and reports must be filed by 31 January via Pension Schemes Online.
HMRC has reminded taxpayers who have not yet filed their 2010/11 tax return that the filing deadline is only a week away. Those who file a return after 31 January will receive a £100 penalty even if there is no tax to pay or the tax liability is paid on time, HMRC said.
An email sent to HMRC staff by the Public and Commercial Services union ‘urged staff to support a “full day strike” on 31 January against what it describes as an attempt to “privatise” the HMRC call centres,’ the Daily Telegraph reported on Saturday.
The paper quoted an ‘HMRC source’ as saying that the department would make sure that ‘no one is disadvantaged as a result of the action’.
David Gauke, the Exchequer Secretary, said in a Commons written answer this week that HMRC ‘has well-established contingency plans in place and is doing everything possible to support customers on the self-assessment online filing deadline’. If a taxpayer would have submitted a return on time but failed to so ‘as a direct result of a failing or delay by HMRC’, HMRC would accept that there is a reasonable excuse and cancel the penalty, he said.
HMRC staff staged 30-minute walkouts last week in protest at the appointment of two private companies to run year-long call handling trials at tax credit contact centres. In response to that action, HMRC said it was not privatising existing HMRC contact centre jobs but was ‘determined to improve’ its service.
More than 570,000 people filed a return online on 31 January 2011. HMRC warned that while its systems can cope with large volumes of online returns, at busier periods it may take people 'a little longer' to complete their return.
HMRC has repeated its warning to taxpayers not to fall victim to ‘phishing’ emails sent out by fraudsters in the run-up to the deadline. ‘We only ever contact customers who are due a tax refund in writing by post. We currently don’t use telephone calls, emails or external companies in these circumstances,’ said Joan Wood, Director of HMRC Online and Digital.
The department has also issued a further reminder to pension scheme administrators that 2010/11 returns and reports must be filed by 31 January via Pension Schemes Online.
