A senior Dundee politician has warned taxpayers to be on the alert for fraudsters who could take advantage of errors by HM Revenue and Customs.
The mistake has left up to six million people across the country facing an unexpected tax bill.
Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie led demands in the House of Commons for action, and received an assurance from the Treasury that HMRC will only contact individuals affected by the tax code errors by letter and never email.
Mr Hosie warned there could be a surge in scam emails demanding payments.
He said, “As if these unexpected tax demands are not bad enough there are, regrettably, some very unscrupulous fraudsters out there who will try to cash in.
“Local residents need to be alert to scam emails purporting to come from HMRC that offer ‘tax rebates’ in exchange for bank details.”
He added, “When the SNP raised this in parliament the Treasury minister confirmed that HMRC will not contact taxpayers affected by the blunder via email or telephone, nor will they ask for bank details.
“Any local residents who are affected should be aware of this, and for anyone who has any concerns I stand ready to pursue matters with the authorities on their behalf.””Fiasco”It is understood that 4.3m taxpayers have paid too much, but 1.4m have underpaid and will receive demands for the money before Christmas.
The average amount owed by individual taxpayers is £1428.
Mr Hosie warned that the error would leave many families’ annual budgets in disarray.
He said, “This tax fiasco will cause real hardship for a great many households, through absolutely no fault of their own, and the Treasury must now make every effort to ensure that people are not exploited by fraudsters.”
In parliament Mr Hosie demanded the Treasury explain how the situation came about.
He said, “We must have clarity on the full extent of these errors, and assurances that taxpayers who face demands, particularly those whose financial circumstances have deteriorated, will not be hounded or face hardship through no fault of their own.
“We need to get to the bottom of how and when this problem occurred, when ministers knew about it, and what action they are taking.”
He added, “It is essential that taxpayers can have confidence in the PAYE system, and ministers must now get a grip.”