Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.
AIA

TAX NEWS: Treasury accused of tax credits fraud 'cover-up'. By Dan Martin

by
20th Jun 2006
Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

coins

The Treasury has been accused of covering up the true scale of fraud in the tax credits system and holding back from publishing a report into the errors responsible.

Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman David Laws claimed government research into the problem has already been completed but the Treasury is holding off from releasing it to avoid embarrassment.

Laws said the report is expected to significantly increase the estimate of the annual cost of tax credit fraud from the initial figure of £460 million.

"The Treasury has failed to get a grip on tax credit fraud, and now they seem to be hiding a new report revealing the cost of such fraud, which was ready months ago," Laws said.

"The Treasury has been so concerned to increase the take-up of the chancellor's pet scheme that the proper checks on fraud have been neglected at great cost to the taxpayer."

David Laws, Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman

"The Treasury has been so concerned to increase the take-up of the chancellor's pet scheme that the proper checks on fraud have been neglected at great cost to the taxpayer.

"Basic anti-fraud provisions have been deliberately and persistently ignored, leading to problems such as the fiasco of paying credits to illegal immigrants."

Laws added that it was now time for payment general Dawn Primarolo, the minister "responsible for the tax credits mess", to be sacked.

Gordon Brown's flagship tax credits scheme has come under stinging criticism over recent months.

A recent BBC investigation revealed 2,700 immigrants have been wrongly paid tax credits, while Conservative MP Richard Bacon was told by the National Audit Office that HM Revenue & Customs is currently investigating 40 tax credit fraud cases worth £5 million.

HMRC chairman, Sir David Varney, recently admitted that the real impact of the fraud was "significantly higher" than the original £460 million estimate.

Tags:

Replies (0)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

There are currently no replies, be the first to post a reply.