Bradwell man hit with a �5,000 tax bill

A BRADWELL man has been hit with a demand for over �5,000 in unpaid income tax, even though he says he should be owed �3,000.

Kieran Kelly, 35, of Parkland Drive, said he could not afford to pay the money to HMRC Inland Revenue, which relates to late tax returns dating back to 2004.

The father-of-four was briefly self-employed in 2003 and would have needed to fill in a tax return form. But in 2004 he started working as a Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) company employee meaning he should not have had to complete a self-assessment tax return and he believed his firm would take care of it.

However, when he appointed accountant James Bool, of Accounting Equations, to help with his financial affairs last year, Mr Bool discovered the demand for money to cover unpaid tax for the financial years 2004 and 2005.

But when he received all HMRC’s tax information about his client, he worked out he was actually owed money.

Mr Kelly said he had not received any HMRC letters asking for the money and had spent much time working around the country for construction firm Balfour Beatty.

Mr Bool said: “I think the situation is unfair because he was on PAYE. He is a lay man and does not understand about taxation and you would have thought he would have been treated a little bit more kindly.”

Mr Kelly, who lives with partner Molly, 24 and children Josh, 16, Kieran, 13 and Patrick, two, said: “I can’t give the HMRC that money because I have not got the money to give them and it would be unfair to give them money I do not owe.”

An HMRC spokesman said she could not comment on individual cases.