http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...0&in_a_source=
Quote:
The Inland Revenue should be allowed to recover tax debts directly from people's bank accounts without going to court, MPs said.
A House of Commons committee also wants surcharges imposed on persistent late payers and for people to be able to pay their tax bills by credit card.
The Public Accounts Committee said the Inland Revenue must do more to speed up debt recovery.
Tax debt stood at around £12 billion at the end of March. Although much of it will be collected within a year, some £3 billion was more than a year old and around £700 million of uncollected debt is written off each year.
The report said those were large sums to be tied up or even lost to the public purse altogether when they could be paying for public services.
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I am not sure what I think of this yet. The idea of the government accessing my bank account is unwelcome.
Also, I can foresee problems with people who are challenging their tax bill having the funds removed and then fighting for a refund instead. This could be disastrous, especially if the process is automated.
I think that the surcharge for late payment is reasonable, although it will mean that those people struggling to meet their tax bill are further punished. We might reasonably call that tough luck though.
Payment by credit or debit card seems very sensible.