Taxman spends 68c to tell a teacher he owes one cent

THE taxman has spent 68 cent on a postage stamp to inform a Dublin teacher that he owes the Revenue Commissioner ONE cent.

Padraig O’Donnell, 52, received the letter dated January 21, 2015, at the end of last month and was, at first reading, concerned that he had been sent a tax bill.

On second glance he realised it was a statement and the amount owed was minuscule.

‘I had never heard of this before in my life. A tax bill for one cent! I knew if I told people they would not believe me. They would think it was some kind of joke,’ said Mr O’Donnell, a teacher in the Horner School of English.

‘So to prove it I actually brought the letter into work with me and showed it to my colleagues. It was a relief in a way because when I saw the letter first and realised it was a balancing statement I thought, oh my God, what do I owe them?

‘The amusing thing was they gave me the option to dispute it, or have it reviewed. It just says USC result: underpayment. 0.01.

‘I had to look at it twice. It did say, “The underpayment will not be collected at this time.”

‘Then it continued, “If you disagree with this you may appeal to the commissioners in writing.”’

Mr O’Donnell added: ‘It is a good example of how ridiculous bureaucracy can be. It cost more in work time and postage for the sake of one cent.’

A Revenue spokeswoman said she could not comment on an individual case. She said: ‘It appears that you are referring to a balancing statement. This is not a bill. It is a review of the relevant individual’s tax position for a particular year.’