EMPLOYERS are causing tax bosses headaches by claiming to have staff called “A N Other”.
More than 500 income tax forms submitted to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in 2009/10 were filled out with the fictitious name.
Incorrect details can cause can cause problems for employees, such as the wrong amount being taken from their pay.
Additionally, 128 staff were entered as Mr, Ms or Mrs “Dummy”, 572 people were given as having surnames only included the letter X, ranging from “Mr X” to “Mrs XXXXXX” and 824 were given the surname “Unknown”.
There were also 75 staff with the surname “Casual”, 11 “Cleaners”, 9 “Workers” and 6 “Students”.
Birthdates also caused problems, with 40 people who were apparently 200 years old or more after incorrect details were submitted.
Jim Harra, HMRC’s Director of Customer Operations, said: “Most employers in Scotland get their PAYE returns right. The few who don’t can cause problems for their employees, for example, incorrect deductions of tax.
“Around 80 per cent of errors in employee data are due to an incorrect name, date of birth or national insurance number – straightforward information that can be collected and checked quite easily.
“So, whether you are employing ‘Mr or Mrs J Smith’ – or even ‘Mr or Mrs A N Other’, please use the full and official name on your PAYE paperwork. First names are very important, especially for common surnames.
“We really want employers to check that they are sending us the right details for all their employees, to make life easier for them, their employees and HMRC.”
