HMRC 'spent £10,000 sending flowers' to taxpayers to apologise for mistakes

Taxman delivers bouquets to individuals 'when a simple sorry isn't enough'

Tom Barnes
Wednesday 31 October 2018 17:55 GMT
Comments
HMRC has spent thousands of pounds sending flowers to apologise for mistakes it has made
HMRC has spent thousands of pounds sending flowers to apologise for mistakes it has made

HM Revenue and Customs has spent more than £10,000 in the past five years sending flowers to taxpayers to apologise for its mistakes.

Details disclosed under a Freedom of Information request found the government department spend more than £3,000 on bouquets in a single year.

Its total spend on florists between from 2014 and the current tax year was £10,298, according to The Daily Telegraph.

HMRC said it uses flowers as a way to apologise to taxpayers in cases where serious mistakes have been made.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

It added it had reduced its spend on bouquets down to just £860 in 2017.

“For some mistakes, a simple ‘sorry’ may not be enough and we think sending flowers can be a more personal gesture to put things right,” an HMRC spokesman said.

In the past, the taxman has reportedly sent flowers to a number of business owners and individuals deemed to have been poorly treated by the system.

A Stockport café owner received an apology bouquet after HMRC accidentally sent her a tax bill for close to £1bn, before later revising the statement down to £17,000.

Flowers were also sent to a pensioner who had been due an £800 tax rebate, but was instead posted a cheque for just £1.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in