HM Revenue & Customs is set to reinforce its snooping powers and raid bank accounts to collect lower amounts of tax debt than was previously possible.
Currently the tax office can take money directly from the bank accounts of those who owe more than £1,000, under powers brought in a decade ago.
But the powers currently only allow HMRC to recover the money if the person would still have more than £5,000 in their account after the debt has been taken.
New proposals by the tax office, if approved, would allow it to take 'lower value debts' in instalments directly from people's bank accounts, with no £5,000 buffer.
When contacted by This is Money, the Treasury did not confirm how much lower the threshold could be. It said this would be part of the consultation on the policy.
