Finance Bill: Plans to cap tax repayment time limits

I remember reading some time ago about the principle of "equitable liability" under which HMRC would make repayments in cases such as mentioned by Rebecca Benneyworth. Does that principle still apply and would it be any help? Since it is an extra-statutory practice, clearly you can't use it as an excuse to be careless but if still available it would appear to offer some possibility of putting past injustices right.

The time limit for assessing tax on taxpayers under normal discovery provisions is also to be reduced to four years, with assessments possible where the taxpayer has failed to take reasonable care set at 6 years, and 20 years for dishonesty. So it would seem fair to match error or mistake claims with the discovery period.

However, this does overlook situations such as unrepresented taxpayers who are unable to understand and claim their rights - and including some who are misadvised by HMRC. There would seem to me to be some case for extending the time limit to 20 years in such cases - low paid employees put on BR by lazy employers for their entire working life, and pensioners denied age allowance in the absence of a claim are two examples that I have dealt with and spring immediately to mind.

This is a total disgrace, but is not surprising under the current circumstance. This is as usual, the dead hand of the Treasury raising funds to help meet the gaping black hole in their coffers.

Mr Andrews is quite right, if they cap the repayment they MUST cap the period for back taxes as well. ( But, there is nothing in the tax statutes to say there has to be fairness!)

This is the most incompetent government I have ever seen, and the Treasrury runs rings around them, hence many of the problems we have today.

This will not change until this gang of hopeless individuals get chucked out, and the sooner the better.