And finally… taxman branded ridiculous by judge over tax return penalty for homeless man

The taxman had issued a £1,600 fine to Krzysztof Pokorowski, a self-employed electrician, travelled to Poland in April 2014 and had his drink spiked which, on his return to the UK, lead to him losing his job and house.

Pokorowski, who represented himself, told the court he had then ended up on the streets and that his documents had been lost or stolen after they had been thrown into the street.

HMRC had argued that it was his responsibility to notify them of a change of address.

Mr Pokorowski remained sleeping on the streets until January 2017 when he was able to find a job and consequently moved to permanent accommodation.

On 6 April 2015, HMRC issued a notice to file a tax return for 2014/15 but this was sent to Pokorowski’s previous address, as well as subsequent penalty notices.

Pokorowski eventually filed his 2014/15 tax return on 8 July 2017.

At a First Tier Tribunal, HMRC claimed that it was the responsibility of Pokorowski to notify HMRC if he changed his address and said that the ‘circumstances are not “special” and therefore there are no grounds for a special reduction’.

Pokorowski claimed that as he had lost of all his belongings and documents, and as he was homeless, he had a reasonable excuse for failing to file on time.

Judge Aleksander found that Pokorowski had a reasonable excuse and allowed his appeal.

Judge Aleksander said: “HMRC’s decision to pursue Mr Pokorowski for penalties in the circumstances of this appeal is a scandal. For HMRC to expect a homeless person to keep HMRC up-to-date with their address is ridiculous – and just needs to be stated to show its absurdity.

“I also find that HMRC’s decision that there were no “special circumstances” to be flawed – in other words, no reasonable HMRC officer acting reasonably could have reached this decision, and if Mr Pokorowski did not have a reasonable excuse (which eliminated his liability to penalties), I would have reduced the penalties to zero.”

An HMRC spokesperson said: “We are sorry that this case came to court and we apologise to Mr Pokorowski.

“We know that people often need additional help and support from us and we are committed to delivering that while being considerate and sensitive to individuals’ circumstances.”