The Loan Charge and Taxpayer Fairness APPG has written to the important Public Accounts Committee about the scandalous revelation that HMRC has spent 31 million a year so around 186 million in total on administering the Loan Charge and dealing with cases since it came into force in 2019.
This shocking fact was exposed through a response to a Freedom of Information request made by an LCAG volunteer, who has done an amazing job of exposing so much about the whole Loan Charge Scandal. The figure was also mentioned in the McCann Review report.
At the same time as spending this huge sum on pursuing those affected, HMRC only 'achieved' 800 settlements with individuals, for a total of 44 million.
It has also now emerged that the projected 3+ billion that HMRC has predicted will be raised through the Loan Charge includes 1.6 billion that is merely an estimate of the potential value of what HMRC predicted would be saved by deterring future use of such schemes.
This means that over half of this much quoted figure so often used by Ministers and HMRC to justify the unfair approach was NEVER money that was going to be collected, at all.
In addition, as has been noted repeatedly including by supportive MPs even if efforts were made to collect the remaining amounts, many individuals simply cannot meet the demands, meaning the full sum would not be recovered.
What of course this all means is that the Loan Charge and the associated strategy for ruthlessly pursuing all those affected is built on a false figure.
The LCAG are urging everyone to write to their MP about this. The APPG letter is here.
The LCAG have drafted a template email for paying LCAG members.
Telegraph Article on the 186 million spent on the Loan Charge
The Daily Telegraph has today published an article on this revelation and the APPG letter. They have called the Loan Charge a "botched crackdown".
The article quotes Greg Smith MP, a Co-Chair of the Loan Charge and Taxpayer Fairness APPG stating, "All along, HMRC has been targeting the wrong people and yet even now, the Labour Government is still only pursuing people that are victims of mis-selling, while doing nothing to recover the millions made by those who mis-sold these schemes, which is shameful."
The article also includes a quote from LCAG, with spokesperson Steve Packham saying, "In opposition, Rachel Reeves said HMRC should go after the perpetrators, yet in government has done a complete U-turn. Whilst those who mis-sold PPI are being forced to pay back millions, those who mis-sold contractor loan schemes are not being asked to pay a single penny it's double standards."
You can read the article here (however it is behind a paywall)
