We refer to the letter "Tax letter arrives years after death" (The Straits Times, 13 Feb 2010) by Ms Carol Ong.

Ms Ong's family received a letter from us in Nov 2009 with regard to the income tax payable by the estate of Ms Ong's grandfather. The case was identified in a recent review of arrears of old cases. Prior to her letter, our staff had been in discussion with Ms Ong and her mother to clear up the matter.

We have since clarified with Ms Ong's family and confirmed that payment had already been made in 1993 by one of the trustees of the estate. However, the payment, in the form of a cashier's order, was credited to the income tax account of the trustee, instead of being used to settle the tax arrears of the estate. We have explained to Ms Ong how the error might have arisen and would like to apologise to her and her family for the inconvenience caused.