Department accused of pressurising taxpayers with “nudge letters”
A tax lawyer has accused HMRC of circumventing normal dispute resolution processes by using “nudge” letters to pressurise individuals.
Adam Craggs, tax partner at RPC, claims HMRC are sending “carefully crafted” letters directly to taxpayers who dispute their tax bill, warning, for example, that they win the majority of cases that don’t settle and that the taxpayer may attract adverse publicity.
Craggs says he has replied to HMRC on behalf of clients with appeals pending at the tax tribunal to ask them not to send any more letters, and HMRC gave a “short, unsympathetic response”.
He says: “My clients find it intimidating. There is an anomaly here, in that solicitors are under a professional duty not to write directly to individuals, but HMRC officers do not have the same obligation. They’re very effective. They spook clients, who get very worried.
“Not only is this a tactic designed to pressurise taxpayers into settling their dispute, it also demonstrates just how far HMRC is prepared to go in its attempt to persuade taxpayers not to pursue their
