Those freelancers who have payments still outstanding for their taxes will be concerned to hear that the Treasury has hired over 1,200 temporary staff recently so they can help to reclaim lost revenue. In a recent article in The Telegraph this sudden recruitment drive is described as a ‘dash for cash.’ A tax accountant for Blick Rothenberg, Angela Beech has been quoted as pointing out that the Treasury are now turning ‘more aggressive’ whilst another anonymous accountant has reported that HMRC are using bailiffs a great deal more regularly, when previously they were only used in what were described as exceptional circumtstances.
A spokesperson for the Treasury said: “Improving our service to PAYE customers is an HMRC priority for 2011-12. We are recruiting more than 1,000 temporary staff to help us ensure good standards of service to all our customers. This will enable us to restore service standards and work old open cases.”
