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Tax return deadline extended due to strike
Strike action has forced HMRC to extend the self assessment deadline by two days.
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HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has extended the tax assessment deadline by two days due to strike action by staff.
Union strikes by staff who work in the HMRC contact centres mean that people who wish to file their self assessment tax return online on the 31 January may not be able to get through to the call centre.
HMRC has extended the deadline to 2 February and people filing on this date will not receive a £100 late filing penalty. More than 2 million people have yet to file their tax returns online
David Gauke, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said: ‘This strike could have caused thousands of people to incur fines, so I am pleased that HMRC has taken this common sense approach.
‘The government does not want anyone trying to file their tax return on time to be unfairly penalised because they were unable to get through for help and advice on the 31 January.’
The public sector union, the PCS, has organised strikes at call centres in protest at the use of private companies to run call-handling trials in two centres.
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1 comment so far. Why not have your say?
Alan via mobile
Jan 27, 2012 at 01:53
Why don't they all just go on permanent strike like they do in Greece and give us all a break?
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