HMRC admits 71% wrongly targeted in child benefit fraud crackdown

Tetiana, a Ukrainian national. received a letter saying she could be liable to pay back £3,706.35 in child benefit because she had ‘moved to Ukraine permanently’. Photograph: Family photo/Copyright: Tetiana and the Guardian

Seven in 10 parents who had child benefit suspended in an HMRC fraud crackdown last year were in fact legitimate beneficiaries who had not emigrated, the tax authority has revealed.

The chief executive of HMRC, John-Paul Marks, told the Treasury select committee that 71% of those targeted, higher than the 63% previously admitted, were in error.