Post Office Compensation Schemes: Tax Exemptions

Victoria Atkins Excerpts

Wednesday 8th November 2023 Written Statements

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Victoria Atkins)]

Post Office Ltd is compensating postmasters for the suffering they have experienced due to the Horizon IT scandal, which arose following the installation of the Horizon software in the late 1990s.

In parallel with this, Post Office has continued to review its operational processes and policies to ensure that, where any further issues are identified, it takes steps to investigate and address these. Through this work, Post Office has found previous operational issues such as processes and/or policies regarding certain services that impacted postmasters financially. As a result, Post Office is establishing a compensation scheme—the Post Office process review scheme—to provide redress to postmasters affected by these issues. This is separate from its work compensating postmasters for Horizon shortfalls and for those with overturned convictions.

The Government are determined to ensure that any postmasters suspended without pay, or who may have been financially impacted due to Post Office Ltd operational issues, are fairly compensated for their losses.

The Government have announced today that they intend to provide funding support for the Post Office process review scheme. In addition, the Government are announcing that payments to be made under the suspension remuneration review and the process review scheme will be exempt from income tax, national insurance contributions and, where applicable, capital gains tax and corporation tax. The Government will legislate to exempt these payments in due course where necessary. HM Revenue and Customs will not collect any tax on any further payments made until that legislation takes effect.

Approximately 150 payments have already been made under the suspension remuneration review subject to tax. The Government are also announcing that they will support Post Office with funding to make additional top-up payments to these postmasters, exempt from income tax, national insurance contributions and, where applicable, capital gains tax and corporation tax, to ensure that their compensation offer was not unduly reduced by tax.

Additionally, approximately 150 postmasters who either have already or will have to complete a self-assessment tax return will be able to access funding for tax advice of up to £300—inclusive of VAT—to assist them in amending or completing their tax returns.

[HCWS10]