UK Treasury committee blasts handling of backed-dated charges

THE British government's handling of backdated port charges for before 2005 has been criticised by the parliamentary treasury committee as "washing its hand of problems" facing port operators.

The Commons committee's annual report said stevedores and other warehouse operators faced backdated bills that did not take account of payments already made.

"We recommended that the government take steps to ensure that the financial liabilities faced by port occupiers to take such payments into account."

Scotline Terminal Goole, a timber shipping company, has been bankrupted because of miscalculation in backdated business rates by the government of GBP200,000 (US$306,358), part of a total GBP701,000 bill, revised to GBP114,500.

London's Financial Times said Scotline CEO Peter Millatt accused the government of bullying that destroys small businesses, saying the back-tax bill tipped them into liquidation, "If we had received that earlier we could have continued trading and 10 people would still have jobs."

The Treasury Committee, a House of Commons body, examines expenditure, administration and policy of the Treasury, Revenue & Customs, and associated public bodies, including the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority.

Despite reassurance from ministers port revaluation issues would be discussed West Ham Labour MP Stephen Timms, financial secretary for the treasury made it clear it is "a matter between the ports and their tenants" said the committee, according to London's International Freighting Weekly.

The Conservative opposition has said it would scrap back taxes if it wins the next election with the shadow minister Michael Bates saying the party would abandon the back tax levy from before 2005 and charge from this year.

(Source: www.schednet.com)