HMRC given powers over joint bank accounts for unpaid tax

Key facts

• HMRC can take money from a joint bank account to pay one partner's unpaid tax, per Apex News.
• The report says no minimum amount is guaranteed to be left in the account.
• John Healey gave HMRC the powers, according to Apex News.
• The report says the changes were pushed through after the Budget.

HMRC has been given new powers to take money directly from a couple's joint bank account to pay one partner's unpaid tax, according to a report by Apex News. The report says the tax authority can withdraw funds without any guarantee that a minimum amount will be left in the account.

Apex News reported that John Healey gave HMRC the powers, and that the changes were pushed through after the Budget. The report describes the move as a step change in tax collection and says it raises concerns over fairness and safeguards. The report gives no figure for the sums involved, no date for when the powers take effect and no detail of the safeguards it says are in question.