A cautionary tale, that I hope no one else is caught by.
From 2005 until 2007 I was an employee of a UK Ltd company, working on secondment in France. I had a contract with them such that I would not incur any additional taxes over and above what I would have paid in PAYE had I been a UK resident. Each month they deducted 'hypothetical tax' from my salary. At the end of the UK and French tax years they employed an accountant to file my tax returns. Then when I received my tax statement my employer paid it, using the money they had already deducted from my salary.
It all went wrong at the end of last year when my employer went in to administration. At the same time the accountant advise me that I needed to file an amended 2005/06 tax return. Also my 2006/07 had never been completed because my employer had delayed giving necessary information. Both tax returns have now been completed and I now owe HMRC many thousands of pounds.
The administrator says there is no money to make any payments for me. I've also been advised by a solicitor than I am solely liable for my taxes. So now this morning I've written a cheque to HMRC to pay my tax (again), with a covering letter explaining my situation. But I'm not holding my breath waiting for any positive news.
So in short. Don't always trust your employer to make the correct legal and moral decissions.
Well and truly hacked off............
****whistles to self Monty Python's Bright side of life******
From 2005 until 2007 I was an employee of a UK Ltd company, working on secondment in France. I had a contract with them such that I would not incur any additional taxes over and above what I would have paid in PAYE had I been a UK resident. Each month they deducted 'hypothetical tax' from my salary. At the end of the UK and French tax years they employed an accountant to file my tax returns. Then when I received my tax statement my employer paid it, using the money they had already deducted from my salary.
It all went wrong at the end of last year when my employer went in to administration. At the same time the accountant advise me that I needed to file an amended 2005/06 tax return. Also my 2006/07 had never been completed because my employer had delayed giving necessary information. Both tax returns have now been completed and I now owe HMRC many thousands of pounds.
The administrator says there is no money to make any payments for me. I've also been advised by a solicitor than I am solely liable for my taxes. So now this morning I've written a cheque to HMRC to pay my tax (again), with a covering letter explaining my situation. But I'm not holding my breath waiting for any positive news.
So in short. Don't always trust your employer to make the correct legal and moral decissions.
Well and truly hacked off............
****whistles to self Monty Python's Bright side of life******