According to the Paymaster General, Dawn Primarolo, in the last year the Government has failed to write off over 294,000 cases where its own tax credit system failed and overpaid some of the least well off in society. The figure represent 97% of all disputed overpayment appeals taken to the Treasury in the this tax year.
Isn't it something when a system can suffer from yearly systemic failure, and yet the blame for it is passed on to the poor sod who received the money and then spent it? Primarolo claims that we should "keep the matter in proportion" and "recognise the fact that hundreds of thousands of families" have received tax credits without mistakes.
Very true, hundreds of thousands have received tax credits correctly. However hundreds of thousands haven't as well according to your own figures. I would imagine those people who have been overpaid and not been lucky to get the money written off keep the demand letters from HM Revenue and Customs in proportion just fine.
For the record, I hate the tax credit system (I even refused to fill out the form on principle two years ago). I would rather replace the system will equal type formulas but apply them as tax breaks on income instead (and not punish saving). It makes far more sense to use the PAYE tax system, rather than have a lengthy form filling session where you effectively ask the Government to give you back the money they've already taken.
6 comments:
I agree - they should just have doubled (or whatever for the same spend) Child Benefit and made it taxable.
Much simpler. No take up problem. And no automatic overpayment of anyone who's on an incremental salary.
And it's no just the number of disputed payments they don't implement their own decisions when you win an appeal.
I won my appeal in February last year. It was only in October after further complaint that they changed adjust the payment to stop the claw-back (although they had trice told mee that my record had been amended!) In compensateion they wrote off another disputed overpayment that had accrued for the following tax year. Needless to say despite a letter from Dawn herself to my MP saying the revised Advice Notice had been send (so my records must have been adjusted) I have seen no such Advice Notice some six weeks later, my payment has not been adjusted, and I've still received no refund of any clawback.
I suppose the upside of this is that in September they'll probably write off the next year's disputed overpayment: I've supposedly been overpaid every year so far (and disputed each alleged overpayment) so I don't see why this year should be any different.
"I agree - they should just have doubled (or whatever for the same spend) Child Benefit and made it taxable."
errr you agreed with something I didn't suggest! I got scraed for a moment when you said you agreed with me. Thankfully normal service was resumed after that! ;)
Totally agree Dizzy, I know a couple of people who have had months of worry over the "demand" letters they have received.
They filled out all the forms correctly, one even queried the payments 4 times before they were reassured that they were correct having been chased the year before because of the treasury over paying them. Now through no fault of their own they have a huge bill they have no way of paying hanging over their heads.
This time they refused to fill in the forms and instead got a part time job on top of their full time job to make ends meet, even got a snotty letter saying that they would get nothing because they did not apply.
3 weeks later they started receiving further payments!!!!
Ironically Dismal Dawn once refused to pay poll tax :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2055944.stm
'At the time of her first election to the Commons in 1987, Dawn Primarolo was a Bennite member of the hard left.
She joined the Campaign Group and set about promoting a left-wing agenda with gusto.
She opposed one-member-one-vote, campaigned against the Gulf War and refused to pay her poll tax.'
This haughty , over promoted and bungling Brownite seems untouchable, there are no limits to the misery she seems to be allowed to inflict! What does a mininster have to do before they're fired these days?
The state should stop paying people to have sex and abolish Child Benefit.
Dawn Primarolo tried to ban pornography and led a delegation of wimmin to Nicaragua in the '80's , no surprise that she's turned out to be such a callous and amateurish Minister under the auspices of Mrs Rochester
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