£300 fine for late tax returns
Thursday 29th September 2011, 2:01PM BST.
A CLAMPDOWN on people who fill their tax returns late has been passed by the States.
This morning members approved a series of changes to the income tax law, which included a penalty of up to £300 for a tax return missing the relevant deadline.
Warning letters would be sent out 30 days in advance to give people a chance to comply.
The changes also included tightening up the tax rules for visiting performers, so that even if an agent is used, those booking the act are still required to pay 20% income tax if the fee is above £2,000.
- More on this story in Friday’s Guernsey Press
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So by natural justice there will be a £300 compensation paid for late rebates, yes?
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LOL – how about we fine them for not responding to email questions, for 2 years now I have used the internet service to send my tax returns to them and after 3 to 5 follow up emails trying to find out if all is ok I give up and phone them – So after sending my usual 3 to 5 emails I will assume all is ok and not bother — Not Very Good Service At All!!!!!!!!!!
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How on earth they think they can charge people for late returns when they are not even processing them is a joke. I sent mine in on 4th February and have still not received anything back. I phoned in June to which i was told it takes three months! After still not receiving it i phoned in August to be told that it was just waiting for authorisation and to date i have still not had it back. Funnily enough though i know people who sent theirs later than me that have received bills. They are quick to process the ones that owe them money!
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Why??
Just so the tax office can have a bigger pile of undealt with returns??
It took them 8 and a half months to process my relatively simple return this year.
Next we’ll have the Mr Gray coming out whingeing that people are being nasty to his staff again, well when the powers that be introduce this type of legislation in a situation where the tax office are 8 months behind in returns, what can he expect.
Seriously, our states members seem more out of touch with reality by each passing day.
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And what about the rebate that i am owed from 3/4 years ago but have never seen!!!!!!!!
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Great news!
I’m invoicing Income Tax £900 right now for the last three years of missing, inaccurate and late correspondence.
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WHHHAATT?????
I look forward to the £300 they’ll be giving me next year when they can’t be bothered to deal with my tax form in a timely manner…..
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Playing devil’s advocate for a moment, the Income Tax Office have thousands of returns to process; the vast majority of us only have one. It’s hardly a big chore to get a return in on time – we get three months for goodness sake.
Yes they’re not the most efficient but we’d be the first to complain about public expenditure if they suddenly took on a dozen more staff.
BTW I’m self-employed, not a Civil Servant!
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Actually I believe the issue is the sheer volume of returns.
What they should to is automate the process, using OCR and give out a free CDROM with the tax software on (those business card CDRs would be ideal)
Have the computer send out an automated SMS to verify receipt of file so people know it is being processed, with a second SMS to verify that all is well/not/etc and estimated tax liability if appropriate.
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This is really quite a hefty fine, how does it compare to those imposed for real crimes rather than simple tardiness? Don’t forget they already have plenty of weapons to use on real tax dodgers (e.g. Mr.Wong). It is definitely one-sided and hypocritical. There is no reason why taxpayers should not be entitled to similar payments when the Tax Office fails to work in a timely or effective manner.
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