Recruiting 5,000 new HMRC compliance officers is only the first step to fixing the UK’s tax system
With just over three weeks to go until the Budget, the Government's proposal to recruit 5,000 new HMRC compliance officers is welcome, but only a small step in fixing the UK’s tax system.
Robert Salter, Director, said:
HMRC has been understaffed for many years and the pre-budget announcement that additional officers will be recruited is something which all taxpayers and tax advisors should welcome.
However, the 5,000 new staff are only a small first step in addressing the long-term under-resourcing that HMRC has suffered from, and by itself this will not solve the problems with our tax system.
The Government needs to recognise that HMRC systems are often poor and don’t provide either HMRC or taxpayers with a good service. For example, the HMRC tool for assessing whether someone is employed or self-employed for tax purposes can often come up with results which are wrong when reviewed against binding UK case law.
It is also vital that HMRC ensures that the new members of staff benefit from long-term and fully comprehensive training, as the UK tax system is incredibly complex. Many of its regulations are counter-intuitive or very fact specific. This is even more pressing considering all the potential tax changes in the upcoming Budget.
Robert added:
Unless the Government ensures that the employees get this training, the money involved in their recruitment is likely to be wasted and taxpayers could actually end up with a worse service, as under-trained officers ask for the wrong information or mis-apply tax legislation.
While the recruitment of additional staff is a good first step, it is important for Ms Reeves to recognise that it is only an initial step. Hopefully in the Budget we see an explanation of how all these new staff shall receive the training they need.
Would you like to know more?
If you have any questions about the above, please get it touch with your usual Blick Rothenberg contact or Robert Salter using the form on this page.