§ Mr. Buchananasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will take action to encourage voluntary confession by persons who have made false claims to personal allowances in their Income Tax returns, and who are prevented by the fear of prosecution from coming forward.
§ Mr. MacDermotYes. We are anxious to encourage such people to confess, and have decided to make them a special offer of freedom from prosecution for a limited period. The Inland Revenue will not prosecute (or, in Scotland, report for prosecution) anyone who comes forward before the end of September, 1967 and admits that he has been making false claims to personal allowances. He must make a full confession to the Revenue. He will have to pay all the tax lost, and a monetary penalty may be imposed. But there will be no question of criminal proceedings against those who confess, by 30th September, to making false personal allowance claims. I hope that anyone who has been making false personal allowance claims will take immediate advantage of this undertaking in order to put himself right with the Inland Revenue.