Tax boss refuses to apologise over demands for extra money Dave Hartnett, the country's top tax official, has refused to apologise to 1.4 million people facing demands for extra money ? adding that the situation was not "extraordinary".
Daily Telegraph (UK) Published: 7:00AM BST 11 Sep 2010
The HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Permanent Secretary responsible for tax denied there had been any errors, and that there was no "need to apologise".
He said HMRC was justified in asking people who owed more than £2,000 to repay it more quickly, saying they were likely to be the highest earners.
An estimated 2.3 million people are thought to have underpaid income tax during the past two tax years after errors in their Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax codes.
About 900,000 of these are expected to be exempt from repayment after the write-off threshold was raised.
Those who will have to make up the shortfall owe around £2 billion, or an average of £1,428 each.
Asked if he would say sorry to those facing unexpected bills, Mr Hartnett told BBC Radio 4's Money Box programme: "I'm not sure I see a need to apologise.
"I've read the papers, listened to the media and heard stories of HMRC blunder and IT failure ? neither of those are true.
"Every country that I know of that has deduction of tax from wages and salaries has to do a reconciliation at the end of each year and we're doing one."
He added: "I don't think we are extraordinary. Once or twice in the past the numbers have been very large ? sometimes they're less ? it depends on how the system has been operated and what issues there have been."
"We didn't get it wrong. This needs to be reconciled."
People who owe less than £2,000 will be able to pay the money in monthly instalments taken from their salary over one to three years but those owing more will have no more than three months to return the cash. Mr Hartnett indicated that around 45,000 letters had been sent out as an initial pilot ? with changes potentially being made before the rest of the six million people who owe tax or are due refunds received theirs ? due before Christmas.
Mr Hartnett said he had "no plan to resign over this.
"I am addressing the issue and I think the nation needs me to do just that."