Britannia Radio

TaxPayers' Alliance Special Bulletin - 13th September 2010 TaxPayers' Alliance gets the Taxman to apologise! 7.30am: "I'm not sure I see the need to apologise" (Taxman, Dave Hartnett, HMRC) 9.30am: "He has to say he's sorry... he has got to take responsibility" (Emma Boon, TaxPayers' Alliance) 7.00pm: "I am deeply sorry that people are facing an unexpected tax bill" (Taxman, Dave Hartnett, HMRC) Many of you will have seen the news on Saturday morning, when tax chief Dave Hartnett refused to apologise to taxpayers after HM Revenue and Customs admitted that 6 million people had either over paid or underpaid income tax for the past two years. "I'm not sure I see the need to apologise" he told journalists. Just hours after the news broke the TaxPayers' Alliance Campaign Manager, Emma Boon, was on BBC Breakfast news and the ITV lunchtime news, condemning his refusal to apologise: "He has to come out and say he's sorry, he is on a taxpayer-funded salary of more than £150,000, he has got to take responsibility. HMRC have got it wrong, they have been taking the wrong amount of tax from 6 million people. If it is a regular occurrence that you are getting this many people's income tax wrong then we have to start asking questions about whether or not HMRC is fit for purpose." Just nine hours after his comments were first broadcast Mr Hartnett backed down and Emma Boon was back on the BBC news channel as news of the u-turn broke. "It's good that he's now said sorry, it's disappointing that it's taken all day to get there" This is a victory for taxpayers and shows how the TaxPayers' Alliance really can make a big impact in a short space of time. Dave Hartnett says he and his colleagues at HM Revenue and Customs are now working "flat out" to ensure everyone's tax is correct. www.taxpayersalliance.com