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THE government’s out-of-date systems have allowed people to fall through the cracks for Covid-19 support and made it harder to assess levels of fraud, a group of MPs has found.
Public accounts committee chairwoman Meg Hillier said that many workers had been left behind by government support schemes because HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has old tax systems.
The committee is publishing a report today that urges HMRC to explain why some taxpayers have had no support during the pandemic.
It has affected some people who should have been eligible for furlough payments, including some who are self-employed and freelancers.
And while some have been left without any income, there are several examples of large companies that have taken support from the government yet continued to pay out dividends to shareholders and high salaries to executives.
The committee has given HMRC six weeks to explain why it cannot help some freelancers and other groups who have been left out of support and consider how it can support others who have fallen through the cracks.