THE taxman has written to a partner of a major Worcester accountancy firm, demanding he fills in a form because they have been "unable to trace" his tax records.

David Savill, who has been the head of owner-managed business services at Bishop Fleming, which has an office in College Yard, for a decade - and has not moved from his home for the past 17 years - said he was "astounded" to receive the letter informing him that HMRC cannot trace his tax records.

He added: "Having paid considerable sums in tax every year for three decades, and not having moved home for 17 years, I could not believe that HMRC has managed to lose my tax records. At a time when HMRC is asking for the power to plunder the bank-accounts of people they deem to owe tax, I am doubly determined that this power should not be permitted by Parliament.

"Despite the millions of tax assessments that they get wrong each year, HMRC has been seeking the power to grab funds from our bank accounts. I'm an accountant, so I've been ardent in providing HMRC with my tax submissions every year. But, somehow, they've managed to lose track of me on their radar screen. If they can make so simple an error in my case, it underlines my belief that they should not be permitted to have their proposed power to grab money from the bank accounts of tax-payers that they decide have under-paid."

An HMRC spokesperson responded: "We cannot comment on identifiable taxpayers. We had already set out robust safeguards to protect vulnerable debtors in our original Direct Recovery of Debts proposals, but feedback from the consultation process told us we could do more to make sure this only catches those who are playing the system. We’re strengthening the guarantees we can offer taxpayers that the powers will only be used when debtors have consistently refused to talk to HMRC and settle their debts, and their use will be subject to the toughest scrutiny and oversight possible. This is about levelling the playing field. The vast majority of people pay the tax that is due, on time, but there is still a very small minority who try to gain an unfair advantage by persistently refusing to pay what they owe, despite being able to. These are the people who will be targeted by the powers for the direct recovery of debts owed to the Exchequer."