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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Tax deadline extended after crash | Tax deadline extended after crash |
| (about 8 hours later) | |
| HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has extended the self assessment deadline after problems with its online service. | HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has extended the self assessment deadline after problems with its online service. |
| HMRC's website was out of action for several hours on Thursday, the last day taxpayers could submit their return. | HMRC's website was out of action for several hours on Thursday, the last day taxpayers could submit their return. |
| Thousands of taxpayers were facing an automatic £100 fine plus interest on any tax due if they missed the original midnight deadline. | Thousands of taxpayers were facing an automatic £100 fine plus interest on any tax due if they missed the original midnight deadline. |
| HMRC now says no one who files their return before midnight on Friday will be penalised. | HMRC now says no one who files their return before midnight on Friday will be penalised. |
| 'Technical difficulties' | 'Technical difficulties' |
| "HMRC's self assessment online filing service has experienced technical difficulties this morning which has meant that some tax payers have experienced difficulties filing on-line," said an HMRC spokesman. | "HMRC's self assessment online filing service has experienced technical difficulties this morning which has meant that some tax payers have experienced difficulties filing on-line," said an HMRC spokesman. |
| Really, it's just not good enough for a public body Chris Kirby Tax too complex says ad man | |
| He said the system is now rapidly returning to normal levels of service and HMRC very much regretted any inconvenience caused. | He said the system is now rapidly returning to normal levels of service and HMRC very much regretted any inconvenience caused. |
| "A record number of 3.6 million taxpayers have already successfully filed on-line with 104,000 filing today," he said. | "A record number of 3.6 million taxpayers have already successfully filed on-line with 104,000 filing today," he said. |
| "HMRC takes any disruption of service very seriously and to reflect this no-one who files electronically or by paper by midnight Friday 1 February will face a penalty," he added. | "HMRC takes any disruption of service very seriously and to reflect this no-one who files electronically or by paper by midnight Friday 1 February will face a penalty," he added. |
| More than 150,000 people filed their tax return on 31 January last year. | More than 150,000 people filed their tax return on 31 January last year. |
| Complaints | Complaints |
| The BBC had been deluged with complaints from taxpayers who have found themselves unable to log in to the system. | The BBC had been deluged with complaints from taxpayers who have found themselves unable to log in to the system. |
| Edward Buxton from Nuneaton spent the morning trying to file returns on behalf of himself and his wife, starting at 0900 GMT. | Edward Buxton from Nuneaton spent the morning trying to file returns on behalf of himself and his wife, starting at 0900 GMT. |
| "I have been trying on and off since. Once I got a message from HMRC saying that they are aware of the problem, but most of the time the message just says something along the lines of 'the server has no idea what the page is you are trying to access'. | "I have been trying on and off since. Once I got a message from HMRC saying that they are aware of the problem, but most of the time the message just says something along the lines of 'the server has no idea what the page is you are trying to access'. |
| "That doesn't give you great confidence." | "That doesn't give you great confidence." |
| Kevin Butler, from Marlow, also contacted the BBC. | Kevin Butler, from Marlow, also contacted the BBC. |
| "I have tried to log in repeatedly, and get an obscure failure message after a very long wait by the browser as it tries to access an obviously overloaded website," he said. | "I have tried to log in repeatedly, and get an obscure failure message after a very long wait by the browser as it tries to access an obviously overloaded website," he said. |
| "It's not a good time for the service to die." | "It's not a good time for the service to die." |
| Clients | Clients |
| Chris Kirby is an accountant based in Redcar in North Yorkshire, who was trying to file returns on behalf of six clients. | Chris Kirby is an accountant based in Redcar in North Yorkshire, who was trying to file returns on behalf of six clients. |
| If the Revenue's IT systems have crashed, then they need to extend the deadline Chas Roy-Chowdhury | If the Revenue's IT systems have crashed, then they need to extend the deadline Chas Roy-Chowdhury |
| He said problems first arose on Wednesday afternoon, after which the website "pretty much crashed". | He said problems first arose on Wednesday afternoon, after which the website "pretty much crashed". |
| He has not managed to get onto the system since. He said that when he first contacted the helpline, they denied anything was wrong. | He has not managed to get onto the system since. He said that when he first contacted the helpline, they denied anything was wrong. |
| Eventually staff told him the problem was down to "too many people trying to log on". | Eventually staff told him the problem was down to "too many people trying to log on". |
| But it is not uncommon for clients to find they cannot submit their information until just before the deadline, he said, and he believed HMRC should be able to cope. | But it is not uncommon for clients to find they cannot submit their information until just before the deadline, he said, and he believed HMRC should be able to cope. |
| "They should have had not just sufficient capacity, but spare capacity to deal with the peaks they should have known they were likely to get today," he said. | "They should have had not just sufficient capacity, but spare capacity to deal with the peaks they should have known they were likely to get today," he said. |
| "Really, it's just not good enough for a public body," he added. | "Really, it's just not good enough for a public body," he added. |
| Campaign | Campaign |
| More than 900,000 taxpayers missed the 31 January deadline last year, although they did not all receive the automatic penalty, as this is only levied if more than £100 tax is owed. | More than 900,000 taxpayers missed the 31 January deadline last year, although they did not all receive the automatic penalty, as this is only levied if more than £100 tax is owed. |
| HMRC published adverts this week to remind people of the deadline | HMRC published adverts this week to remind people of the deadline |
| To encourage people to submit their returns on time this year, the Revenue launched a last-minute advertising campaign. | To encourage people to submit their returns on time this year, the Revenue launched a last-minute advertising campaign. |
| This consists of 848 road side hoarding - 28 of which are at London Underground stations - and 443 adverts at selected ATMs across the country. | This consists of 848 road side hoarding - 28 of which are at London Underground stations - and 443 adverts at selected ATMs across the country. |
| Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of tax at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), said HMRC had no choice but the push back the cut off point. | Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of tax at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), said HMRC had no choice but the push back the cut off point. |
| "If the Revenue's IT systems have crashed, then they need to extend the deadline. They need to be pragmatic." | "If the Revenue's IT systems have crashed, then they need to extend the deadline. They need to be pragmatic." |