John Healey will use the budget to let HMRC take money straight out of taxpayers’ current and savings accounts, with no judge involved. Debts as small as a few pounds will be fair game…
The taxman already has this power, but only where the debt tops £1,000 and the account is left with at least £5,000 afterwards. Healey wants to scrap both limits for anyone who fails to “engage” and taking monthly instalments plus fines and interest until the bill is cleared. HMRC reckons 4.8 million people and firms owe under £10,000 each, around £4 billion in total, with an average debt of £950. Average Joes…
There will be no need for a court order. Instead, the taxpayer will have to challenge the withdrawals once the money has already gone. HMRC is also looking at pulling income and spending data from credit reference agencies to judge what people can afford, having previously floated taking up to 50% of disposable income. Guilty until proven innocent…
A senior government source promises “rigorous” safeguards. Anyone who has tried to get HMRC on the phone or has been at the wrong end of an incorrect calculation by them knows how this ends…
Robert Jenrick on the Today programme:
“Can you now give a guarantee to your listeners this morning that no BBC presenter in the future will be exposed as a paedophile, as a number have been in the recent past? No, of course you can’t…”