AROUND 2,118 taxpayers in the West Midlands who have failed to submit tax returns are being offered the chance to come forward and pay up under a new HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) campaign.

The campaign, which started on Tuesday, is aimed at people who have received a Self Assessment tax return or notice to complete a tax return for any year up to 2011-12 but have not taken action.

As part of the campaign, HMRC will be writing directly to several thousand people it has identified using intelligence-gathering software and will follow up with calls to many of them.

Marian Wilson, HMRC’s head of campaigns, said: “This is definitely the best time to catch up, on the best possible terms. While some penalties will apply, it is likely to cost people more if we have to find them rather than them coming to us. We have made it easy to take part.

“We know this approach works because campaigns launched so far have produced more than £547 million by people coming forward voluntarily and evidence shows that people who change their behaviour voluntarily are more likely to remain compliant longer.

“We will continue to analyse information using Connect, our state-of-the-art risking engine, and will be looking more closely at people who have gaps in their tax records.”

The campaign follows last year’s Tax Return Initiative campaign, which covered higher-rate taxpayers who had failed to submit 2008-09 or 2009-10 returns.

Under that campaign, more than £30 million was paid when more than 3,000 people came forward voluntarily, filing more than 5,500 tax returns.

Once participants have told HMRC that they want to take part in the campaign, they have until October 15 to complete and submit a tax return and pay the tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) that they owe.

After October 15 if they have not submitted their returns and paid the tax due, penalties of up to 100 per cent of the tax or even criminal investigation could follow.

Help is available from HMRC:

  • online at hmrc.gov.uk/campaigns/forms.htm
  • through a dedicated helpline on 0845 601 8818