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Ain't necessarily so

Suppose you receive a letter from the authorities telling you that you have to pay some extra tax - perhaps with interest, even with penalties. There is a temptation to think that something on official notepaper - with the Customs portcullis on it, or the Revenue crest - 'must be right'. Of course, everyone makes mistakes, and official rulings are often sent out based on incomplete information or a misunderstanding of the facts.

The important thing is to identify what the issues are and provide the key information or explanations which will lead to a quick and painless agreement. It's also important not to make an ill-considered response that makes matters worse, perhaps by giving even more incomplete information because the problem wasn't fully understood. The National Audit Office recently published statistics showing how many assessments were dropped by Customs when further information had been provided - more than half of those which did not get as far as the appeals Tribunal - and Customs also lost nearly 30% of those cases which did go to the Tribunal.

So, a decision of the taxing authorities is not necessarily the end of the story - but it requires a careful response. If you receive any such decision, we can help assess the best way forward.

The details of this survey can be found on the National Audit Office website.