In a disheartening revelation, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has sounded the alarm bells over the dismal state of customer service at His Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The tax authority's service levels have persistently declined over the past five years, leaving taxpayers frustrated and exasperated.
A Five-Year Downward Spiral
The PAC's latest report, published today, paints a grim picture. Despite record-high tax revenues reaching £814.0 billion in 2022-23, HMRC's performance has fallen short. Here are the key findings:
1. Service Levels Plummet: Customer service levels at HMRC have hit an all-time low. Callers faced agonizing wait times, with 62.7% waiting more than 10 minutes to speak to an adviser in 2022-23, up from 46.3% the previous year.
2. Resource Crunch: HMRC claims it lacks the resources to meet rising demand for phone and post services. Instead, it directs callers to digital channels, insisting they are of good quality. However, taxpayers and their agents have vehemently disagreed, citing frustrating experiences.
3. Tax Complexity: With the taxpayer population growing and tax affairs becoming increasingly complex, HMRC appears to be struggling to cope. The twin challenges of managing more taxpayers and intricate tax matters have stretched the organization thin.
4. Compliance Gap: HMRC fell £2 billion short of its £36 billion target for compliance yield (additional revenue saved due to HMRC's intervention) in 2022-23. This shortfall is concerning, especially given the record tax revenues.
5. Criminal Prosecutions Decline: The number of criminal prosecutions by HMRC has significantly dropped—from 691 in 2019-20 to a mere 240 in 2022-23. While HMRC claims selectivity in using its criminal investigation powers, the PAC worries that fewer prosecutions send the wrong message.
6. IR35 Rules Under Scrutiny: The PAC also examined HMRC's approach to the IR35 rules on off-payroll working. Concerns were raised that this approach might discourage legitimate economic activity and deter companies from using contractors.
Chair's Comment
Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Committee, expressed her disappointment:
"Almost eight years have passed since our Committee challenged HMRC over its telephone lines' holding message being one of the most streamed pieces of music in the country. Our latest report into its performance sadly illustrates a continued tale of decline in its services."
As taxpayers continue to grapple with HMRC's service woes, urgent action is needed to restore confidence and efficiency. The PAC's recommendations aim to bridge the gap and ensure that taxpayers receive the service they deserve.
Read the full report here .
Tax does have to be taxing.
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Maybe HMRC holding music should be Number One is the Charts.
ReplyDeleteIt's having more airtime than Taylor Swift according to the PAC Chair.
They would cut demand on the f***ing useless tw*ts HMRC if the government actually got tough on immigration and if they stopped all the handouts to British scroungers who refuse to work.
ReplyDeleteSorry if a dose of reality upsets all the lefty pcs union members on here with there if there victim hood mentality , welcome to the real world
Try posting again when you're sober.
Delete@16:42 28 Feb 2024
DeleteYou speak for the silent majority but, as you alluded to, it never takes long for a unionised leftie to get triggered
It's all planned as a 'controlled demolition'. Tell me I'm wrong.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/02/28/ai-cut-jobs-civil-service-oliver-dowden/
And don't expect it to improve anytime soon when you have a truly piss-poor telephony system that is as much use as a rice paper fireguard.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the name of a James Bond Theme Tune? No, wait a minute, that was 'All Time High'..
ReplyDeletehttps://committees.parliament.uk/committee/127/public-accounts-committee/news/200074/alltime-low-hmrc-customer-service-deteriorates-amid-taxpayers-exasperation/
Well it's called building our future! The program that ousted tens of thousands of experienced staff and closed hundreds of offices leaving a handful of shiny buildings full of call centre operatives with poor training and no support - support that was provided by the experienced staff before they were forced out. You reap what you sow I'm afraid
ReplyDeleteA struggle that's painfully familiar. I'm sure that slashing the phones by another third will turn things around...
ReplyDeleteThe 'deflect criticism and distract' will be the department weapon of choice.
The shitweasels in charge must be due a gong soon.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/05/the-struggle-to-get-through-to-a-human-being-at-hmrc
Reading between the lines, this is the beginning of the end. They're going to use 'private' debt collection agencies which is the death knoll for Field Force.
ReplyDeleteProblem (HMRC is Shite) Reaction (Lazy Civil Service working from home) Solution (Sack thousands, outsourced, lower pay, no pension, no job security)
It will start at debt collection but won't end there.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/03/07/treasury-private-debt-collectors-45bn-tax-evasion/
Field Force failed from the outset. It's always been a source of problems for HMRC
DeleteToo many meek, unprofessional 'collectors' on the one hand and a hotbed of corruption on the other.
@21:37 Corruption in Field Force? Doesn't surprise me at all.
DeleteBack in my time as a Collector of Taxes on Distraint (as then was) a colleague in Hertfordshire got caught stealing the BK27 levy costs.
He escaped prosecution and even kept his job - he got a final written warning which, in the circumstances, is tantamount to having his tummy tickled. Meanwhile, you would also hear about honest, hard working staff who were bullied out because, on account of 'being different' (e.g. disabled), they were seen as easy prey for sociopathic managers seeking the cheap thrill of destroying others' lives. From all that I read, it's even worse nowadays.
I find that quite staggeringly disappointing.
DeleteIn the former HM Customs & Excise if you were caught with your 'hand in the till' you would be marched out of the door and If the sum involved was more than petty cash the police informed.
Shows the difference between the two former departments.
As a former Inland Revenue/HMRC tax inspector, I am afraid I must respectfully disagree regarding your perception of the two former departments. IMHO the Inland Revenue was by far a more high-performing and professional department than HMRC but, in the main, inspectors didn't shout about it and executed their role with a quiet professionalism that yielded results and quickly settled dispute with taxpayers and agents. Of course, I don't speak for the Collector of Taxes, which may have been different. However, by contrast, Customs had a 'macho' mindset which, actually, failed to deliver what it 'said on the tin'. No matter, a large percentage of their staff were sustained by the their former department's reputation. In our office, it became known that the ex-Customs office party groper had been doing it for more than 20 years - very typical of the Customs culture to turn a blind eye. It was rumoured that Customs' lack of professionalism informed Mr Brown's decision to merge the departments. The merger created a toxic environment: bullies and psychopaths from the former Inland Revenue (all large employers have them, sadly) now became encouraged by Customs' self-image of themselves and the bullying culture got out of hand. The rest is history...
DeleteSee your reply doesn't address the point of my post which was financial fraud.
DeleteI had to smile at your suggestion that the former Revenue "quickly settled disputes with taxpayers and agents". The former Revenue didn't do anything quickly. A Revenue intervention could last for years as they argued over coppers. On the other hand an EO in VAT was expected to finalise over 100 visits per year. Different jobs done differently.
The point about "professionalism" is one I well recognise. After the merger Revenue managers made it abundantly clear that they thought we were worthless amateurs.
This tells you all you need to know. HMRC and Treasury don't give a flying shite about the people who work for them. You're just disposable.
ReplyDeleteIf you're reading this blog and think it's a good idea to work for these cockroaches, simply don't...it's not.
https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/122299/13-03-2024/tory-stealth-tax-rises-ratchet-up-pressure-on-hmrc-workers/
Disposable and broken by the time the finish with you
ReplyDeleteA Gong must be imminent surely for million missing calls. Either that or a recognition award from The Guinness Book of Records.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/income/million-calls-unanswered-hmrc-wait-times-hit-record-high/