20 May HMRC proposes to seize funds for unpaid taxes direct from bank accounts
Announced in the last budget, the HMRC are consulting on the proposal to take funds direct from the bank accounts of taxpayers who are more than £1,000 behind with their tax and/or national insurance payments:-
HMRC have published a consultation document about a new power which will allow HMRC to recover debts from the accounts of debtors who have chosen not to pay what they owe despite being able to, for comment by 29 July 2014.
Direct Recovery of Debts (DRD), as announced at Budget 2014, will provide HMRC with the ability to recover cash directly from the bank accounts, building society accounts and ISA accounts of debtors who owe significant debts of over £1,000 and have sufficient funds in their accounts to pay. Such debts, which could be made up of just one tax debt or a few different tax debts, will include National Insurance contributions that are due to HMRC.
To ensure that this measure does not create unnecessary financial trouble for those affected, the Government propose that a minimum of £5,000 is left in the taxpayer’s account after the debt has been recovered.
Additional checks and procedures, such as the right for a debtor, once notified, to appeal before money is taken; and pro-rata safeguards for joint accounts, are also being proposed.
This consultation seeks views on the implementation of the safeguards and other operational aspects DRD from anyone who could be affected by these changes, including institutions that take deposits and groups representing vulnerable debtors.
Source:- CCH Online 7th May 2014