A report released by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has further criticised HM Revenue & Custom’s (HMRC) phone service. It found that nearly 44,000 customers were cut off without warning after being put on hold for more than an hour in the first 11 months of last year.
Having criticised HMRC’s phone service last year, the committee said the service was worse again since it’s last report. It said HMRC had “damaged trust in the tax system” as a result.
The chair of the PAC, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, has suggested that HMRC is degrading the service as a matter of policy.
HMRC has refuted this, with HMRC chief executive Jim Harra saying that the tax authority has made huge improvements to their service standards. He cited a cut in call waiting times of 17 minutes since April.
In the 2024 Autumn Budget, the Chancellor committed to investing £1.7 billion over the next five years to recruit an additional 5,000 HMRC compliance staff and 1,800 HMRC debt management staff. The report perhaps just confirms that this investment is needed by HMRC.
If you are frustrated by dealing with HMRC or would like help with any tax matter, please give us a call. We would be happy to help you!
See: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4zjnd2llyo
At Autumn Budget 2024, we were promised a consultation on the tax treatment of predevelopment costs. However, following the Court of Appeal’s decision on a recent case, the government is postponing publication of the consultation while it considers the implications of the decision.
Amidst all the news about increased tariffs in the US, the UK government has announced a cut to zero in import tariffs on a range of 89 foreign products.