Susan Dalgety: Amy leads the way with tax advice for the little man – and woman

Edinburgh Law School lecturer Amy Lawton runs the only free, dedicated tax clinic in the UK

This month I only have to make a payment, so while it will hurt my bank balance, there is little that can go wrong. But thousands of people each year – none of them rich – are fined because of late returns.

Worse, there are thousands more fined for not filing on time, even though they did not earn enough to pay income tax. Work that one out, because it made my brain hurt.

But help could be on hand if Dr Amy Lawton, an Edinburgh University law academic, realises her dream of a network of “tax clinics” across the country.

A tax clinic is where people on low incomes can get free advice on everything and anything to do with their taxes.

They are a big thing in the States, but are very rare here. In fact, Dr Lawton runs the only free, dedicated tax clinic in the UK, in partnership with the charity Tax Aid UK.

She has just won a prestigious scholarship to study at Villanova Law School, home of one of the oldest tax clinics in the US.

The American tax system is different to ours as it is based on self-assessment for all, so even if your employer deducts income tax from your salary, you still have to file a return each year with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Tax clinics help keep millions of low-income Americans on track with their taxes.

Here, 12 million people pay their tax by self-assessment. Some are so rich they employ specialists to help them ‘optimise’ their tax position. Many more use an accountant to help them navigate the online forms, And some, like me, use the DIY method.

But there are still far too many people who haven’t a clue what to do about their tax returns, and can’t afford help. Dr Lawton may just have found the answer.