HMRC’s Charter annual report: 2022 to 2023 shows that poor service levels are undermining HMRC’s ability to deliver on their charter standards, says CIOT.
The report includes the findings of a survey carried out by the group in February on whether tax agents and taxpayers believe HMRC is meeting its charter standards. The survey received more than 900 responses, with complaints about service levels a recurring theme. It found that:
‘being responsive’ scored the lowest of the charter standards, with an average score of just 2.3 out of 10;
‘making things easy’ and ‘getting things right’ also scored poorly, at 2.7 and 3.4 respectively;
the remaining standards – ‘being aware of your personal situation’, ‘treating you fairly’, ‘recognising that someone can represent you’, ‘mutual respect’ and ‘keeping your data secure’ – address the context in which HMRC operates, and scored higher at 4.1, 4.8, 5.1, 5.4 and 6.5 respectively.
Richard Wild, CIOT’s head of tax technical, who sits on the Charter Stakeholder Group, said: ‘Sadly, the survey reflects what we are hearing from our own members, about the everyday time wasted by the challenges they face in interacting with HMRC. Similarly, we have raised with HMRC where the behaviour of compliance staff is not meeting charter standards, most notably recently in their high-volume compliance approach to R&D tax credits.
In its report within the charter report, the independent adjudicator also expressed the view that they cannot see that senior leaders at HMRC have a consistent objective to place the charter at the heart of their operational and strategic decision-making.
‘The responses highlighted two key themes around HMRC accountability,’ Wild added. ‘Firstly, whether there is sufficient internal accountability within HMRC with the performance of HMRC staff being adequately managed. Secondly, the lack of external accountability for HMRC against the charter.’
HMRC’s Charter annual report: 2022 to 2023 shows that poor service levels are undermining HMRC’s ability to deliver on their charter standards, says CIOT.
The report includes the findings of a survey carried out by the group in February on whether tax agents and taxpayers believe HMRC is meeting its charter standards. The survey received more than 900 responses, with complaints about service levels a recurring theme. It found that:
‘being responsive’ scored the lowest of the charter standards, with an average score of just 2.3 out of 10;
‘making things easy’ and ‘getting things right’ also scored poorly, at 2.7 and 3.4 respectively;
the remaining standards – ‘being aware of your personal situation’, ‘treating you fairly’, ‘recognising that someone can represent you’, ‘mutual respect’ and ‘keeping your data secure’ – address the context in which HMRC operates, and scored higher at 4.1, 4.8, 5.1, 5.4 and 6.5 respectively.
Richard Wild, CIOT’s head of tax technical, who sits on the Charter Stakeholder Group, said: ‘Sadly, the survey reflects what we are hearing from our own members, about the everyday time wasted by the challenges they face in interacting with HMRC. Similarly, we have raised with HMRC where the behaviour of compliance staff is not meeting charter standards, most notably recently in their high-volume compliance approach to R&D tax credits.
In its report within the charter report, the independent adjudicator also expressed the view that they cannot see that senior leaders at HMRC have a consistent objective to place the charter at the heart of their operational and strategic decision-making.
‘The responses highlighted two key themes around HMRC accountability,’ Wild added. ‘Firstly, whether there is sufficient internal accountability within HMRC with the performance of HMRC staff being adequately managed. Secondly, the lack of external accountability for HMRC against the charter.’
