To some, the weekend’s headlines that millions of PAYE earners have been paying too much tax will come as little surprise – we all pay too much don’t we?
To others, about 15,000 or so, a letter on their doormat this morning, telling them that they’ve underpaid tax, will no doubt come as an unwelcome surprise.
But according to the latest reports released by HMRC, most news will be good news, with 4.3 million people supposedly due a rebate from the government, with the average payout being £418.
This is less however, than the 10 million figure that hit headlines over weekend. According to the Channel 4 News, HMRC “does not recognise” the inflated 10 million statistic.
A spokesperson for the department said: "We are confident that 5.7 million people will receive either a tax repayment or owe a payment of tax.
"We don't recognise the (10 million) number being quoted.
"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."
For the not so fortunate ones, between now and Christmas, around 1.4 million people will recieve letters and be expected to pay back the £2 billion underpaid through th PAYE system. This will account to an average of almost £1,500 per person.
Speaking on the Radio 4 Money Box programme on Sunday, HMRC head of national news Paul Franklin, admitted the system's pitfalls and said: "We have to improve accuracy, there's no argument about that... We're not happy with how PAYE has functioned."
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