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Tax errors hit 6 million people

September 4th, 2010 | Author: UKStevieB

I strongly suspect that I am more likely to be in the "Owes more money" set than in the "Here's your money back" group :???:

This article was written by David Batty and Phillip Inman, for guardian.co.uk on Saturday 4th September 2010 09.59 UTC

Nearly 6 million people in the UK are to be told they have paid the wrong amount of tax, with some facing bills demanding up to £5,000 in extra payments.

Around 1.4 million people will be told they owe an average of £1,400 because of errors in HM Revenue and Customs' calculations of the pay as you earn (PAYE) tax system over the past two years.

The errors were identified by a new computer system that found widespread underpayments by employers through the PAYE system, which total about £2bn.

Employees who moved jobs or accepted company cars or cash benefits from their employer were the most likely to be caught by the new system.

But 4.3 million people are set to receive a rebate because they have paid too much. With a total overpayment of £1.8bn, each could receive an average rebate of £418.

The first 45,000 letters from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are expected to arrive on doormats on Tuesday.

Around 30,000 letters will alert taxpayers that they are due a rebate and 15,000 will inform them that they have underpaid and will have their tax code altered next year to retrieve the money.

With an average additional payment of £1,428 being demanded, those affected by underpayments could be more than £100 a month worse off next year while the cash is recouped.

It is believed that in some cases individuals may have both underpaid and overpaid, and the amounts could cancel one another out.

In some cases, HMRC will consider writing off demands where taxpayers can demonstrate that they provided all the information necessary to calculate their tax correctly.

The problems arise because at the end of each year HMRC checks that the amounts deducted in tax and national insurance by employers using the PAYE system mach up with the information held on their records.

The process of checking contributions was done manually on a case-by-case basis until last June when a new computerised system was introduced, which HMRC says should help reduce mistakes in the future. It aims to reconcile information held on different systems within HM Revenue and Customs.

A HMRC spokesman said: "The vast majority of the 40 million people who pay through PAYE deductions are correctly taxed, but because circumstances change during the year there will always be a minority who have paid either too much or too little."

He said taxpayers could dispute extra tax charges by claiming on a ESC19 form that they had supplied information in good faith and retrospective bills should be dropped.

Anita Monteith, of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, said some people would not have to make the repayments if HMRC made the error while calculating the tax codes manually.

She said: "HMRC can agree to give up collecting an underpayment if they had the right information to calculate tax deductions and did not use it when they should have done.

"However, it would depend on what has caused the underpayment."

Monteith said anyone who receives a letter should first check that the HMRC's new calculation matches the information on the P60 for that year.

"If you disagree with what they are asking for then call or write to HMRC. However, you might find that the phone lines are jammed next week.

"People cannot refuse to pay the money because it is legally due."

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

Posted in Random Thoughts | Tags: Article, David Batty, Money, News, Phillip Inman, Tax, UK news | No Comments »

New iPods coming our way!

September 1st, 2010 | Author: UKStevieB

Loving the new iPods, anyone wanna buy me a new iPod Touch ;-)

Posted in News Bites | No Comments »

StevieB’s Shared Items

July 10th, 2010 | Author: UKStevieB

[recreading] [recreading]

Posted in News Bites | No Comments »

Click to Download: Streaming music and cloud services gear up

July 8th, 2010 | Author: UKStevieB

Take the Soundtrack of your life with you everywhere you go.

This article was written by Chris Salmon, for guardian.co.uk on Thursday 8th July 2010 20.45 UTC

Now that Spotify and We7 have taken music streaming to the masses, the next shift in our listening habits is expected to be towards a new breed of "cloud services". These allow users to upload their digital music library from their computer to a website, then access it from any computer or mobile device. Both iTunes and Google are strongly rumoured to be launching services in the coming months. Until then, you can give this latest technological new dawn a whirl with mSpot.com.

Sign up for a free mSpot account and you can easily sync parts or all of your PC or Mac's music collection with the site – although it can take around 90 seconds for each song to upload. Once your music is there, access your account through any computer's browser, and you can play, search and make playlists. In the US, there's already a free Android mobile app, which allows you to play your mSpot library on the go, with an iPhone app expected to follow.

With mSpot, free users aren't subjected to any adverts. We7 and Spotify use their ad revenue to pay their hefty streaming royalty bills. But mSpot argues that if you already own an MP3, you have the right to play it on your own devices, without the need for further royalties. So, you can upload up to 2GB of music to mSpot for free.

It's an impressive service, but it seems likely that mSpot's outlook on royalties will be challenged by the big four labels before very long. Plus, the launch of those higher-profile cloud music rivals is looming. The big question, though, is whether any service built solely on music that a user "owns" can compete against the streaming sites that allow people to hear whatever they like, without having to purchase it first.

Apple, of course, would prefer people to keep buying music from its iTunes store. But even they have been offering some impressive free streaming this week. The shows taking place at this month's iTunes Festival in London are being webcast live via both MySpace.com and the free iTunes Live iPhone/iPad app. So far, Scissor Sisters, Tony Bennett and N-Dubz have appeared. On-demand highlights should soon begin to appear at itunesfestival.co.uk, where you can also check the full lineup. But, if you're staying in tonight, the folkpop double bill from Mumford & Sons and Laura Marling should be well worth catching live.

Send your links to chris.salmon@guardian.co.uk

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

Posted in News Bites, Random Thoughts | Tags: Article, Chris Salmon, Click to download, Cloud computing, Culture, Digital music and audio, Downloads, Features, itunes, Music, Technology | No Comments »

Iran bans the mullet

July 6th, 2010 | Author: UKStevieB

Testing The Guardian News Feed WordPress plugin, available here.

This article was written by Phil Daoust, for guardian.co.uk on Tuesday 6th July 2010 20.00 UTC

Imagine a country where a man with a ponytail could have it cut off by the cops, as could one with a mullet, or one whose hair was slathered in gel, fancifully spiked, or simply too long. Repeat offenders would face stiff fines, while their barber-accomplices would have their shops closed.

It may sound like paradise, especially if your own crazy-haired days are behind you. It's actually the Islamic Republic of Iran, whose cultural ministry has just unveiled (although that's perhaps not the most appropriate word in this context) a list of approved hairstyles in an attempt to free the country of "decadent" western cuts.

Jaleh Khodayar, who's in charge of the government- backed Modesty and Veil Festival, explains that the styles "are inspired by Iranians' complexion, culture and religion, and Islamic law".

It's not all good news for fans of the short back and sides, however: 1980s-style floppy fringes are acceptable, as are quiffs. And, worryingly, there seems to be a lamentable softening of Iran's hard line on goatees.