British expatriates who moved to New Zealand were pursued by HM Revenue & Customs for seven years over unnecessary tax returns. Michael Johnson, 77, was hit with a barrage of warnings, demands and penalty notices after the taxman made mistakes.
Johnson received a notice and a £100 penalty in 2017 for failing to file tax returns for 2015/16 and 2016/17, despite leaving the UK in 2007. However, he had not paid any UK tax and had provided proof of New Zealand citizenship. HMRC apologised, cancelled the penalty and offered £25 compensation. The error was said to have been due to incorrectly recording Johnson as self-employed.
Despite the matter being resolved, HMRC demanded he file his tax returns again a year later and paid a £100 penalty. Johnson again clarified that he was not taxed in the UK, HMRC again apologised, the penalty was cancelled and the compensation increased to £35.
Mr Johnson expressed his anguish, telling This is Money: “I’m 77 now and all this really torments me – the letters from HMRC, the wasted time, the copying, the threats. Why am I being persecuted?” A year later, HMRC contacted Mr Johnson again. Instead of a fine, they told him his tax code had been changed. Mr Johnson protested, and the taxman apologised, saying the mistake was due to his private pension provider changing his details to HMRC.
He later received a third apology and an additional £25 compensation, but his ordeal was far from over: in 2021, Johnson was fined a further £100 by HMRC for failing to file a tax return, and received a similar penalty notice in 2024. Both were subsequently cancelled, with him offering compensation.
An HMRC spokesman said: “We have apologised to Mr Johnson and have corrected the record to ensure this never happens again.” But Mr Johnson is sceptical that the issue will ever be fully resolved. He expressed concern, saying: “Personally I have very little confidence that it won’t happen again. We have no choice but to believe what they say.”
“I believe HMRC staff intend to fix this issue as the errors cost them time, money and effort, but computer systems operate without human intervention and are being criticised without any apparent controls.”