|
New penalties were introduced in April 2011 to boost the incentive to file and reduce the costs to taxpayers of chasing up missing forms. As a result, anyone who ignores their Self Assessment filing obligations is now liable to higher penalties than in previous years.
The penalties being issued now will be for a minimum £1,200, comprising:
- the maximum £900 in daily penalties for non-filing
- a further late-filing penalty of £300 or five per cent of the tax due (whichever is higher).
HMRC’s Director General for Personal Tax, Stephen Banyard, said: “We want the returns, not the penalties. This year, half a million more people have filed their return – which means we are issuing 44 per cent fewer penalties.
“But, despite several reminders, nearly six per cent of people have not sent their 2010/11 tax returns to us and they’ll be getting a penalty.
“Where someone has a reasonable excuse for not sending a return on time, we will waive the penalty. We also recognise that there will be some people within this group who don’t need to be in Self Assessment, and we will be happy to remove them from the Self Assessment system and cancel their penalty.”
The penalties being issued over the next few weeks are in addition to £100 late-filing penalties for missing the 31 January filing deadline, which were sent out in late February and early March.
--
If you wish to comment on this article, please log in and use the Reply button below. Registering is free and easy - see 'Join Shout99'.
-
Susie Hughes © Shout99 2012
|
