Taxman's 'ghost' video tells children to pay tax Instead the video clip will be played to children between the ages of fourteen and seventeen, as part of their citizenship lessons, which are compulsory in secondary schools in England. A spokesman for HMRC said the video is part of the taxman's drive to educate children and will be released to schools in a couple of weeks' time. The teaching modules guide children through the hazards of pay as you earn and National Insurance contributions. Schoolchildren are also taught about the tax responsibilities of a good citizen. But critics, who have not seen the video, were quick to criticise. Mark Giddens, a partner at the accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young, said the video appears to be the latest "scare tactic" that has been used by the revenue in other video campaigns. : "This new video seems to be a similar tactic to other scare campaigns the revenue has carried out over the past couple of years to try and ecourage inviduals to come forward or hand over information on someone they know is not paying enough tax. I think a video aimed at children is a bit extreme. Earlier this year HMRC released videos that showed a pair of female eyes and the words "we're closing down on undeclared income." Mike Down, a former tax inspector, who works for Baker Tilly, also called the video a "scare" tactic. "I am all for educating children about how the tax system works, but this is the wrong way to go about it," Mr Down said Two years ago when the taxman started its education drive schoolchildren were encouraged by HMRC to tell their teachers if they know of anyone "in their local area" who is not paying their fair share of tax A spokesman for HMRC said: "The video will help young people - future taxpayers - prepare for the financial realities of life and to hold the tax system to account. We want to help students to understand how tax is collected, so that they know what to expect when they start work.