In the news: September 2023

‘HMRC is suggesting that during the closure taxpayers can go online to resolve issues but there are lots of tasks, such as cancelling a tax return or chasing a refund, which some taxpayers may find it much more difficult to do without the helpline.’

Senga Prior, Deputy President, ATT in the Daily Telegraph on the closure of HMRC’s Self-Assessment helpline, 9 June

‘This looks like a cry for help in a desperate situation. This is another clear indicator that HMRC can’t cope with everything it is being tasked to do, and simply cannot meet the demands of a growing and ever more complex tax system.’

CIOT President Gary Ashford in the Financial Times on the helpline closure, 9 June

‘The LITRG explained that one of the main causes for tax code problems is that the DWP does not operate Pay As You Earn (PAYE) on the state pension.’

The Daily Express on the impact of failing to tell HMRC about state pensions, 9 June

‘HMRC’s justification for the difference in rates is that it is in line with the policy of other tax authorities worldwide. When taxpayers are really feeling the squeeze, it feels unfair to have such a big difference in HMRC’s favour.’

Emma Rawson of ATT in the Daily Express on HMRC interest rates, 28 June

‘We have seen exercises like this in the past work well to bring down backlogs of old post in smaller departments. As the trial is running for an initial period to 4 August, we urge agents to contact HMRC with any examples of post which has not been dealt with for over 12 months as soon as possible.’

Helen Thornley of ATT, in the Daily Telegraph on an HMRC taskforce set up to deal with the postal backlog, 11 July

‘The CIOT said that poor service levels at HMRC were undermining HMRC’s ability to maintain the health of the tax system. Richard Wild pointed to a separate survey of 900 taxpayers and tax agents released at the same time by HMRC, which gave the taxman low scores in “responsiveness, ease and accuracy”.’

The Times, 20 July