How do you know that you are paying the correct income tax?
Today's revelation that hundreds of thousands of workers in the UK have received incorrect tax codes for the 2010/11 tax year will have shocked many people. The vast majority of us automatically assume that the information which the revenue sends to our employers and ourselves is correct and does not need to be reviewed or checked. However, how can you be so sure this is the case?
While there have been a number of significant errors and omissions over the years across various government departments it is the HMRC, which collect income tax from employees in the UK, which can impact most on everyday workers in the country. As a consequence, unfortunately we all need to review our own tax affairs and ensure we are paying the correct tax against the correct tax code. For many people in the UK this may turn out to be a fruitless operation but for those who have received incorrect data from HMRC it could be very lucrative!
The bottom line is that we cannot always automatically assume that information received from the government or any other official body is 100% correct. A quick check can often yield rewards and in many cases be financially beneficial to those in question.
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