Good progress has been made on a number of aspects of HMRC service delivery, the Chartered Institute of Taxation reported last week, as the tax body’s incoming President noted that ‘government cutbacks’ were making it ‘more and more difficult for HMRC to give a sensible service’.
The UK’s tax system was frustrating and over-complex, Patrick Stevens said. But perceptions that it was ‘broken’ should not go unchallenged. His predecessor warned earlier this year that HMRC was the UK’s ‘moneybox’ and ‘could end up being severely damaged’.
A ‘joint initiative’ on service delivery was launched last September after HMRC Chairman Mike Clasper held a meeting in response to the Treasury Committee’s recommendation that HMRC should work closely with professional bodies, charities and businesses to improve service delivery. A joint statement, posted on the HMRC website on 14 May, noted that overall, the project was ‘proceeding to plan’.
‘All the time, government cutbacks make it more and more difficult for HMRC to give a sensible service. Try ringing them up’
Patrick Stevens
Patrick Stevens, Tax Partner at Ernst & Young, succeeded Anthony Thomas as the CIOT’s President last week. Addressing the AGM, Stevens spoke of his visits to tax colleagues in Europe and said Greece was one of the countries in his areas of responsibility. Greece had a tax system, he said, but the main problem was that ‘they don’t collect what is due’.
‘In the UK we are in a different place. We respect the rule of law and our laws generally give a sensible result. The correct amounts of tax are paid and the tax system works smoothly most of the time,’ Stevens said.
‘Nevertheless, over the last couple of years there has been a pretty steady stream of headlines in newspapers about the mistakes made by HMRC, their inefficiencies, the black economy, deals done with some large companies and the ability of some companies to do business in the UK while paying very little tax.
‘And all the time, government cutbacks make it more and more difficult for HMRC to give a sensible service. Try ringing them up. Everyone in this room knows that we are so far away from the position in Greece that you cannot compare it. But every time those headlines appear one or more of the passengers on the Clapham omnibus thinks our system must be broken and there is no need for them to join. That affects our members. It is often the perception rather than the reality that is important.'
Stevens added: ‘We must continue our work to ensure our tax system functions effectively. We tax practitioners and tax directors need to help the HMRC side of the tax profession to get this right.’
Anthony Thomas warned in January that further cuts in HMRC staff numbers could inflict severe damage on the department. ‘It is clear that HMRC is under-staffed and under-resourced, with further significant cuts on the horizon. Is cutting HMRC staff a sensible strategic move on the part of government? Staff morale and the tax collection engine are now under considerable strain,’ Thomas wrote in Tax Journal.
Last week’s joint statement noted progress in relation to:
penalties for late filing of annual returns P35;
the use of email in correspondence with tax agents;
improved services for bereaved taxpayers;
more effective communication of HMRC changes and initiatives to ‘front-line agents’;
changes to bulk mail processes to allow letters to be ‘streamed quickly to the right level of technical expertise’;
improved processing of form 64-8; and
identifying the ‘root cause of agents’ frustrations with HMRC telephone services’.
Other agreed actions included exploration of options for ‘faster repayments’, the update said. ‘The constructive engagement between HMRC, the professional bodies and tax charities involved continues. We will meet again in three and six months to review progress.’
The ICAEW Tax Faculty said it proposed to ‘keep pressure on HMRC not to lose sight of this important initiative’, adding that ‘in order to achieve this we will have regular meetings with senior HMRC staff to discuss progress’.
Good progress has been made on a number of aspects of HMRC service delivery, the Chartered Institute of Taxation reported last week, as the tax body’s incoming President noted that ‘government cutbacks’ were making it ‘more and more difficult for HMRC to give a sensible service’.
The UK’s tax system was frustrating and over-complex, Patrick Stevens said. But perceptions that it was ‘broken’ should not go unchallenged. His predecessor warned earlier this year that HMRC was the UK’s ‘moneybox’ and ‘could end up being severely damaged’.
A ‘joint initiative’ on service delivery was launched last September after HMRC Chairman Mike Clasper held a meeting in response to the Treasury Committee’s recommendation that HMRC should work closely with professional bodies, charities and businesses to improve service delivery. A joint statement, posted on the HMRC website on 14 May, noted that overall, the project was ‘proceeding to plan’.
‘All the time, government cutbacks make it more and more difficult for HMRC to give a sensible service. Try ringing them up’
Patrick Stevens
Patrick Stevens, Tax Partner at Ernst & Young, succeeded Anthony Thomas as the CIOT’s President last week. Addressing the AGM, Stevens spoke of his visits to tax colleagues in Europe and said Greece was one of the countries in his areas of responsibility. Greece had a tax system, he said, but the main problem was that ‘they don’t collect what is due’.
‘In the UK we are in a different place. We respect the rule of law and our laws generally give a sensible result. The correct amounts of tax are paid and the tax system works smoothly most of the time,’ Stevens said.
‘Nevertheless, over the last couple of years there has been a pretty steady stream of headlines in newspapers about the mistakes made by HMRC, their inefficiencies, the black economy, deals done with some large companies and the ability of some companies to do business in the UK while paying very little tax.
‘And all the time, government cutbacks make it more and more difficult for HMRC to give a sensible service. Try ringing them up. Everyone in this room knows that we are so far away from the position in Greece that you cannot compare it. But every time those headlines appear one or more of the passengers on the Clapham omnibus thinks our system must be broken and there is no need for them to join. That affects our members. It is often the perception rather than the reality that is important.'
Stevens added: ‘We must continue our work to ensure our tax system functions effectively. We tax practitioners and tax directors need to help the HMRC side of the tax profession to get this right.’
Anthony Thomas warned in January that further cuts in HMRC staff numbers could inflict severe damage on the department. ‘It is clear that HMRC is under-staffed and under-resourced, with further significant cuts on the horizon. Is cutting HMRC staff a sensible strategic move on the part of government? Staff morale and the tax collection engine are now under considerable strain,’ Thomas wrote in Tax Journal.
Last week’s joint statement noted progress in relation to:
penalties for late filing of annual returns P35;
the use of email in correspondence with tax agents;
improved services for bereaved taxpayers;
more effective communication of HMRC changes and initiatives to ‘front-line agents’;
changes to bulk mail processes to allow letters to be ‘streamed quickly to the right level of technical expertise’;
improved processing of form 64-8; and
identifying the ‘root cause of agents’ frustrations with HMRC telephone services’.
Other agreed actions included exploration of options for ‘faster repayments’, the update said. ‘The constructive engagement between HMRC, the professional bodies and tax charities involved continues. We will meet again in three and six months to review progress.’
The ICAEW Tax Faculty said it proposed to ‘keep pressure on HMRC not to lose sight of this important initiative’, adding that ‘in order to achieve this we will have regular meetings with senior HMRC staff to discuss progress’.
