Tax Credit Claimants must report changes in their relationships...or else!
- 20 October 2010 08:0175698No Nonsense Press Release from HMRC
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For the attention of News and Personal Finance Desks
Date: 19 October 2010
Tax credits claimants in Kent reminded to report changes in their relationships.
Kent's 164,000 tax credit claimants are being reminded that they must let HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) know immediately if a partner moves in or out. Deliberately failing to let HMRC know could constitute criminal fraud and result in prosecution.
As part of a wider Government crackdown on error and fraud in benefits and credits, letters will start to land on doorsteps this week asking claimants to contact HMRC if their personal circumstances have changed. Tax credits are flexible, so the amount of tax credits claimants receive changes as their circumstances change.
Failure to tell HMRC promptly of changes can also result in an overpayment, which means claimants will have to pay back the money they have received. They may also face a penalty or, for fraud, prison.
Some 150,000 or 2.0 per cent of all tax credit claims in 2008/09 are estimated to be incorrect single claims. This represents a potential loss to the Exchequer of £580m.
A breakdown of the area's tax credit claimants:
Kent 164,000
Medway Unitary Authority 28,800
Ashford 11,900
Canterbury 12,400
Dartford 9,200
Dover 11,000
Gravesham 10,400
Maidstone 13,100
Sevenoaks 7,800
Shepway 11,100
Swale 14,200
Thanet 15.900
Tonbridge and Malling 10,100
Tunbridge Wells 8,100
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke said yesterday:
"There has been too much error and too much fraud for too long in our benefits and tax credits systems. It is unfair, unaffordable and unacceptable. Today we are shining a light on the problem across the system and setting out a radical, cross-Government solution. We simply have to make every penny count - and that includes going after the cheats at every level."email: dover7@msn.com - 20 October 2010 08:0975701Quite right too.
- Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
20 October 2010 08:2375702barryw,thats been my understanding for the last 13 years or so,evan under the last labour goverment.so nothing new there then. - 20 October 2010 08:3075705No I am not saying it is new, it is right.
- Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
20 October 2010 08:3275706as long the claiment is honest ? but there you go. - Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
20 October 2010 08:3375707I have to say it's always been the case but maybe they chasing now, time will tell on that oneALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS - 20 October 2010 08:3775708There is definitely the feeling that there is a new brooom about the place now. A new initiative cracking down on all fraudsters and even those who aint too sure. I think this is emanating from the very top..ie Osborne, as he made a speech a day or two ago saying much as is in that new press release.
The tone of the press release is much tougher than previously seen.
email: dover7@msn.com - Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
20 October 2010 08:5675712I do agree with this, but in line with this to make it fair should look at the rich who avoid paying taxes, and close up some of these loop holes.ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS - 20 October 2010 10:1675721systems in place counter most benefit fraud, the problem is with organised gangs from overseas fleecing the tax credit system.
a few weeks a gang from slovakia were charged with a massive fraud then given bail.
what are the chances of them turning up for the trial? - 20 October 2010 10:2075722Let's not forget that people who avoid paying taxes are following the rules which have been laid down by Governments of all colours over many years. People who evade paying taxes are criminals who should be found out and suffer the consequences.
- 20 October 2010 10:4075724You are correct Ray - evasion is illegal and wrong, avoidance is good tax planning and quite legal.
Avoidance includes such common sense things like deposits being placed in a non-taxpaying wife's name to get no tax paid on interest. It can also include pension payments to bring someone down below the higher rate band. There are many tax avoidance measures that are quite legitimate and available to everyone, not just the rich. - 20 October 2010 10:5275725Ray is right. Anyone who has an ISA, premium bonds or pays into a pension is avoiding tax.
PG.I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson - 20 October 2010 12:2975730I am aware from a discussion with a friend that the benefits office has now been able to get a list of all those claiming invalidity benefit, and another list with all those who have an income from private pension. Apparently (and I don't know the rules) this is not allowed. In this area there are several hundred and these are all going to be contacted with a view to stopping the payments and reclaiming overpayments.
- 20 October 2010 15:1475750that is why benefit fraud by individuals is usually detected, so many government departments now share infomation, cross referencing these days is so much quicker and simpler with modern technology.
- 20 October 2010 15:3375753Howard, you point begs the question - why is this information not shared in order to prevent benefit fraud occurring in the first place?
The Government know everything about you, spend millions on IT, yet cannot get the basics right. - 20 October 2010 15:4975757seems logical lesley, i suspect that the data protection act is involved somewhere.
someone who worked for the old department work and pensions told me that although she had access to stacks of personal data, a password was needed to gain certain information not directly relevant to her work.
i think the reason may have been something to do with staff looking up details on their neighbours. - 20 October 2010 16:0675762But the Data Protection laws were set up by the Government, and the only thing that the Data Protection law benefits is the Government. If you give your details to one Government department, then another department to which it is relevant should have access, even if just the relevant items. Not only is the system failing us, costing us in duplicated effort throughout the system, it also makes it impossible to get info that is needed by you and I. You cannot get a list of staff names at the council - this is data protection. Yet we paid to have that data collected and we pay the staff on that data. We are not after their home addresses, just some transparency to the system. This is rife throughout Government, and worse still in the court system. We are allowed to know next to nothing about our Government, yet the Government knows everything about us. Data protection was the shield behind which the MPs hid whilst fiddling their expenses and it took a huge amount of effort, money and time to expose that. It makes me cross!
- Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
20 October 2010 17:3575777purely in reply on the data protection act.
I'm sure it was set up to help
but sharng info agencies in the interests of catchng benefits fraud i'm sure the law of the land would uphold the sharng of info.
To many people hde behind this act to with hold informationALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS