Thought the Taxman Had Forgotten You? – You May Have to Think Again!

A National Audit Office report recently concluded that £14 billion of tax remained unpaid at March 2003.

As a result the Inland Revenue is seeking to collect tax “arrears” covering the last 30 years.

This may come as an unpleasant shock to taxpayers as in many cases it may be difficult to challenge the Inland Revenue’s approach, as records are likely to have been destroyed some time ago. Usually of course records only legally need to be kept for up to 7 years.

The Inland Revenue will be relying mainly on records of arrears logged on their central computer.

We believe the Inland Revenue can be challenged. For example: -

a)	If there have been delays that constitute “Official Error”, or
b)	The amount demanded would represent no more than an estimated protective assessment, which bears no relation to reality, or
c)	It may be possible to persuade the Inland Revenue to give up the tax on the grounds of “Equitable Liability” if there is evidence to show that the amount assessed was excessive.

The point is you may with the appropriate advice be able to defend any “Thunder bolt out of the blue”.

Nunn Hayward have the resources to ensure that if you are unfortunate enough to receive a demand, that it is dealt with as little stress and inconvenience as possible.

Should the Inland Revenue contact you or you have any queries regarding this article please contact Steve Cook, Tax Partner at steve@nunn-hayward.com or telephone 01753 888211.