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Introduction
Every July, HMRC issues a report setting out its achievements over the previous 12 months.
One of the high points in the most recent edition was its continued reduction in greenhouse gas emissions – down, said the Revenue, by 58 per cent in the last five years.
Hot air
However, it is the production of hot air which might most concern taxpayers and HMRC’s paymasters.
For among its other claims is the 79.2 per cent of individuals and businesses who profess satisfaction with the ‘phone and digital support services which it provides.
Just six weeks after HMRC’s boast about its customer service performance came a Mail on Sunday report about how more than 10 million calls to its helpline had gone unanswered.
Unsurprisingly, when it came time for the Revenue’s Chief Executive, Jim Harra, to appear to make his yearly appearance before the House of Common’s Public Accounts Committee in January, he received more of a slap around the head rather than a pat on the back.
The Committee’s own report described HMRC’s customer service as being “at an all-time low’.
Committee Chair, Dame Meg Hillier, pulled no punches, summarising it as “a continued tale of decline in its services”.
Even though Mr Harra pleaded that he didn’t have sufficient resources to quite literally answer a rise in demand for help from taxpayers by ‘phone and post, it emerged that it’s certainly not the same story for everyone.
One rule for them?
The Times’ account of the Public Accounts Committee exchanges zeroed in on the fact that high-profile and wealthy individuals are able not just to call a special HMRC helpline but have their queries dealt with far more speedily than the rest of the tax-paying population.
Those using the service, referred to as ‘Public Department 1″, had their calls responded to nine times faster than the general public.
The nasty taste which that may have left in many people’s mouths was compounded in February by a proposal to make the helpline for the likes of you and I even less accessible by closing it to all but “priority queries” from April to September, leaving everyone else to use its digital services instead.
After a gnawing from all quarters, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the plan was abandoned within 24 hours.
Even so, Jim Harra was relatively unabashed, maintaining that it was merely a bump on the road to matching “the public appetite for managing their tax affairs online” rather, of course, than simply being a way to use bots and not bodies to save money.
HMRC’s legal responsibilities
There is an important point at the heart of any debate about the technology by which HMRC’s services are delivered.
The Revenue’s responsibility to taxpayers has long since been recognised in law.
Going back more than half a century, the Taxes Management Act 1970 set out a variety of obligations.
Such duties were made even clearer with the passing of the Finance Act 2009, which established the HMRC Charter .
The Charter, explained the legislation, “must include standards of behaviour and values to which Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will aspire when dealing with people in the exercise of their functions”.
A quick glance over the document itself indicates that it does, setting out how HMRC will be “making things easy” by offering “services that are designed around what you need to do, and are accessible, easy and quick to use, minimising the cost to you”.
However, that’s the thing with aspirations. Showing effort – and publishing fine words – but falling short might be considered okay by some people but is of little use in the end to taxpayers needing assistance.
There is a need for HMRC to make reasonable provision for all taxpayers, not just those who have status and lots of cash.
Even suggesting that the solution lies in a “transition” to digital services is, in my opinion, not enough because it requires a technological grasp beyond many people, especially the elderly.
Conclusion
Mr Harra’s chutzpah would indicate that ideas for another scaling back of provision may not be too far away.
If that is the case, it is not too difficult to see such plans being challenged in the Commons and the courts.
It is fine for HMRC to feel a little proud of having reaped record tax revenues of £814 billion in the 2022-23 tax year and bringing down its greenhouse gas emissions in the process…
…but surely using some of that money and resources to put in place an effective and efficient ‘phone support service is not too much to ask?
If you have any queries or comments about this article then please let me know.
