Inland Revenue Said To Be Reviving Decades Old Tax Disputes

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

16 April 2004

The UK's Inland Revenue, in an apparent attempt to claw back unpaid tax, is said to be opening cases of outstanding tax payments dating back some thirty years, according to a report in The Times.

The paper highlights one case where a taxpayer was stunned when a demand arrived from the Revenue for unpaid tax dating back to 1992, with no prior correspondence. However, the taxpayer’s accountant is said to have been informed by the official handling the case that the department is looking as far back as 1974 in some cases.

It is thought that the disputes are a hangover from the pre-self assessment system prior to 1996 when disagreements between taxpayers and the Revenue over the amount of tax owed were placed on a ‘standover list’ until the two parties reached a settlement, cases which are now being resurrected by the tax collector.

Accountants have reported a number of similar cases according to the Times, and fear that hundreds more are liable to be hit with sudden demands for outstanding tax dating back several years. The Revenue however, has responded by saying that they will have been in constant contact with taxpayers concerning any tax disputes.

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