§ 54. Mr. John H. Osbornasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in view of the fact that citizens prepared to pay their due income tax have, due to faulty coding and apparent errors within the Inland Revenue, been found to have considerable back tax overdue on retirement, if he will direct the Inland Revenue to alleviate consequential hardship at a time when the taxpayers concerned are least well able to pay.
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesIn certain circumstances arrears of tax which have arisen as the result of official error may be remitted, either wholly or partly. The Inland Revenue's practice of remission based on comparative hardship is set out in the White Paper of July 1971 (Cmnd. 4729), subject to the alteration of the income limits specified there which was announced in July 1974—[Vol. 876, c.146]—where such a case is ineligible for remission the Inland Revenue would take account of a serious impairment of the taxpayer's ability to pay caused by a reduction of income on retirement. I will of course look into any particular case 693W which the hon. Member may have in mind.