Anyone who knows me well knows that I cannot stand unfairness. I will always stand up for the underdog in business or in my private life.
Coupled with my professional desire to make sure my clients pay the correct amount of tax without entering into contrived tax avoidance schemes, you can imagine my reaction when I discovered HMRC had charged a (new) client £1,300 in penalties for submitting a late tax return. Her tax liability for the year was just over £130. in other words, the penalty was ten times the tax due. Ridiculous.
This has made me so cross that I've told the client I will try and persuade HMRC to cancel the penalties on a no-win-no-fee basis. And, if I win, the fee will be a fraction of the penalties she is facing.