A question for UK military (or government) personnel. Have you or any of your colleagues recently received Tax Return forms, or penalty notices, going back several years?
I am beginning to believe that Her Majesty's Inland Revenue (if I am still allowed to call it that) are targetting government employees for past years returns because they are easy targets (rather than targetting those who pay no tax at all).
Whilst I would not advocate tax evasion there would appear to be a spate of tax demands and penalty notices being issued to easily traceable personnel for tax years of several years ago. When the tax office is challenged as to why the original was not received the reply is invariably "it was sent to RAF XXXXXXX" or "it was sent to RN Base YYYYYYY". Bases which invariably personnel had served at but MANY years previously, often initial training bases.
The tax office also claim that it "is the individuals responsibility to keep the tax office informed of their current address". (Did you know that?) But then cannot explain how they managed to trace the individual in order to deliver the penalty notices!!!
Does anyone know if the service pay centres, who manage PAYE on behalf of the IR, also notify them of the current pay addresses for all personnel? If they do it would appear that the government's much vaunted crack down on tax evasion is starting with the easily targetted, law abiding, overstretched military. Or have I watched one to many conspiracy theory films?
