Pension scammers are performing with impunity as few have ever been held to account, in keeping with trade physique The Pension Scams Business Group (PSIG).
The Authorities and HMRC will not be doing sufficient to cease pension scams and help victims, in keeping with Margaret Snowdon OBE, Chair of the PSIG.
She claimed in a speech outdoors Downing Road yesterday that HMRC and the Authorities have acted like bullies of their therapy of pension rip-off victims.
She stated: “HMRC and the federal government additionally blamed the victims, however worse than that, they assumed that each one victims have been responsible of attempting to keep away from tax. That is removed from the reality. Peculiar individuals don’t perceive complicated pension guidelines they usually actually don’t affiliate pensions with tax, not to mention tax avoidance. None the much less, HMRC treats all of them as in the event that they have been responsible of dishonest the tax man.
“Subsequently, on high of dropping most of their financial savings, HMRC has pursued them for tax costs for over a decade; and has pursued them in an unnecessarily aggressive manner. Now to be honest to HMRC, their job is to gather tax that’s due. They are saying they haven’t any selection, however it’s by no means affordable to bully and frighten individuals and deal with them criminals with none proof. It’s a case of when you may have a hammer, all the pieces appears like a nail.”
She referred to as on the Authorities to alter pension taxation legal guidelines to provide HMRC the ability to disapply tax costs in instances the place losses have been attributable to dishonesty by a 3rd celebration.
In her speech she stated PSIG have considerations about suicides, bankruptcies, hardship and extreme welfare points amongst victims of pension scams attributable to HMRC’s concentrate on recovering tax from the taxpayer somewhat than from the fraudsters.
The info, obtained by FOI requests, confirmed there have been virtually 100,000 victims of funding fraud between 2020 and 2023.
The Pension Scams Business Group is a voluntary physique created by the pensions trade to assist share good apply and scale back the danger of scams by constantly utilized sensible due diligence and sharing info on real-time rip-off threats and developments.
