HMRC deliberately cutting off calls?
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has severely criticised HMRC's customer service, forcing it to make a public statement. What's the full story?
HMRC is in the firing line of the PAC again this week. Previously, the public watchdog has criticised HMRC for cutting services, such as its tax and VAT helplines. Now, it has ramped up its narrative - with an accusation that HMRC is running a “deliberately poor” phone service in an effort to force taxpayers to use its online solutions instead. The scathing allegation comes in the wake of a report by a committee of MPs found that nearly 44,000 people were disconnected (and not called back) whilst being on hold for more than an hour in the 2023/24 tax year.
There is certainly no denying that HMRC is keen to make taxpayers aware of its online help options, such as its online chat bot. However, these are unlikely to be of use for anything but the simplest of questions. We're aware of one person who tried to use it to resolve a capital allowances query and was directed to information about child benefit!
Jim Harra, chief executive, denied that HMRC was using such a tactic, pointing to falling call wait times as evidence of improved customer service over the last year.
Related Topics
-
HMRC writes to non-domiciled taxpayers following rule changes
HMRC has begun issuing “one-to-many” letters to individuals affected by recent changes to the tax rules for non-UK domiciled taxpayers. The letters prompt recipients to review their tax position under the new regime. What does this mean if you receive one?
-
Can officers ignore minor input tax errors?
If your business has claimed input tax on an invoice where the supplier has charged VAT incorrectly, HMRC can disallow your claim by issuing an assessment. Can the officer waive that power to achieve a common sense outcome?
-
Practical guide: Tax-efficient will planning with residential property
An individual has a significant property portfolio which provides them with their sole source of income. They want to gift shares in some property to their daughter but retain the income. Can they do this without triggering the reservation of benefit rules?
This website uses both its own and third-party cookies to analyze our services and navigation on our website in order to improve its contents (analytical purposes: measure visits and sources of web traffic). The legal basis is the consent of the user, except in the case of basic cookies, which are essential to navigate this website.