TAX OFFICE CLOSURES MAKE NO SENSE - ÖPIK (Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats)

Cymraeg
English

Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats <montlibdems@gmail.com>

TAX OFFICE CLOSURES MAKE NO SENSE - ÖPIK

February 21, 2007 4:20 PM

In a debate about potential changes to Income Tax yesterday, Lembit Öpik, MP for Montgomeryshire, highlighted the potential difficulty in rolling out these changes if Tax Offices in rural areas were to be shut down.

In the debate, Lembit Öpik said:

"I want to highlight the fact that, although changes might be welcome, one of the problems in implementing them is the possible closure of regional tax offices such as those in Welshpool, Ceredigion and other outlying areas.

"Does he accept that there is a contradiction between passing potentially beneficial changes to the tax regulations and removing the direct contact through local tax offices that would ensure their smooth application?"

Commenting afterwards, Lembit Öpik said:

"I met the staff in the Welshpool Tax Office on Monday. They were able to take me through the facts, which make it absolutely clear how important these offices are to ensure the smooth collection of tax. Indeed, they also pointed out that the existing larger tax offices, such as Wrexham, can't even keep up with their existing workload, and Welshpool find themselves helping to clear backlogs which have been created in these larger offices.

"After saying the Tax Office in Welshpool may close, the Government really needs to think about the consequences of this. Now that it has attempted to implement changes to Income Tax, surely it makes more sense to keep these Tax Offices open, especially in rural areas, so any changes happen smoothly.

"The local connection is a vital link with the services. It's not just about the "front office" either. The backroom staff are a vital local component, and I think it is short sighted in the extreme to close down the local service at a time when the very places the work would be moved to can't even cope with what they've currently got. I am raising all these issues as a matter of urgency with the Treasury. When it comes to local office closures, they've simply got to think again."

ENDS