§ Mr. Bradfordasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the amounts of PAYE which were written off by the Inland Revenue at the end of each of the accounting years ending in October 1978 and 1979, due to the failure of companies, which went into liquidation and for whom the Inland Revenue was the principal creditor, to meet their outstanding accounts.
§ Mr. Peter Rees[pursuant to his reply, 17 December 1979]: In the accounting year ended in October 1978, a total of £.6.1 million in respect of PAYE deductions which employers had not handed over to the Inland Revenue was written off under the general heading of insolvency. This heading includes companies liquidated or defunct and unincorporated 214W employers made bankrupt. No breakdown of the figures among these categories is available nor can any distinction be made by reference to the relation between the amounts of the debts due to the Inland Revenue and to other creditors respectively.
The comparable figure for the accounting year to October 1979 is not yet available.
§ Mr. Bradfordasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he proposes to take to recover, at the end of each financial year, outstanding PAYE and national insurance contributions payments from registered companies.
§ Mr. Peter Rees[pursuant to his reply, 17 December 1979]: The Inland Revenue has the task of getting in as promptly as possible the PAYE tax which employers withhold from employees'pay and the associated national insurance contributions payable by employers and employees. Suitable action is taken, if necessary by processes of law, to recover any underpayment discovered when an employer's liability is reviewed after the end of the fiscal year.