Don't worry we're very fair

The opening letter into a tax investigation stresses how fair and impartial HMRC will be - these are lies.

Here are the highlights from a standard letter opening an investigation dated July 2005.

"Thank you for you Tax Return for the year ended 5 April 2004. I'm writing to tell you that I intend to enquire into this return. Each year we enquire into some tax returns to check that they are correct or because we need further information to understand the figures. We want to make sure you pay the right amount of tax, not too little or too much. I will let you know if I find something wrong...

“I enclose a copy of our Code of Practice, “Self Assessment: Local office enquiries" and a Question and Answer leaflet. The code explains how we make enquiries and how we keep our promise of fair treatment under the Revenue's Service Commitment to you, which is set out on the inside back cover. The Question and Answer leaflet addresses practical issues that may concern you...

“To help us improve customer service, please quote our reference number and provide a daytime telephone number in any correspondence.

Yours sincerely..."

Ends

Code of Practice, "Self Assessment: Local office enquiries" can be read here.