Clampdown on tax credit fraud
HMRC is writing to tax credit recipients reminding them that
deliberately failing to pass on information about changes to their personal circumstances, including if a partner has moved in or out, could constitute fraud and lead to them being prosecuted.
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Hide AdThe move is part of a wider Government crackdown on error and fraud in benefits and tax credits.
The amount of money people receive through tax credits changes
depending on their personal circumstances.
As a result, if people fail to inform HMRC about changes promptly, it could result in them receiving too much money.
HMRC said 150,000 tax credit claims in 2008/09, around 2.5 per cent of the total, were incorrectly paid as single claims.
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Hide AdDavid Gauke, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said: "There has been too much error and too much fraud for too long in our benefits and tax credits systems.
"It is unfair, unaffordable and unacceptable."