HMRC is 10 years old and it needs to up its game
On 18th April 2005 HMRC was born following a merger of the Inland Revenue and Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise and a lot has happened to the department in this relatively short period of time. To coincide with this tenth anniversary, Paul Aplin, chairman of the tax faculty committee at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, believes HMRC should be subjected to an independent review.
Writing in Economia, Mr Aplin says that the review should “look at the governance structure, the level of investment in skills and training, service delivery, the use of powers and HMRC’s culture and performance. It would consider whether the department has adequate resources. It would be independent and conducted in a way that commanded public confidence….” His suggestion is also supported by other respected tax figures which include a university professor and a QC specialising in tax.
Over the last 10 years we have seen significant changes within HMRC, notably:
- A huge move to electronic services, e.g online filing of Self Assessment tax returns.
- Gaining of new powers following a review of HMRC’s powers by itself!
- Staff reduction of around 40%.
- Closure of local offices and enquiry centres in favour of centralised services.
- Increased complexity of the tax system despite the government’s commitment to simplify it.
Public trust and confidence in HMRC has been on the decline and is there any wonder when the department is frequently criticised over its service standards. On the one hand, life has been made more difficult for HMRC with the cut in staff numbers but how much sympathy should we have for a department that, to quote Paul Aplin, “has sought and in some cases gained powers that would once have been unthinkable and many feel that the balance of power between citizen and state in tax matters has tilted too far towards the state.” Raiding taxpayers bank accounts to collect tax debts and demanding tax be paid upfront before a tax avoidance enquiry has been finalised are perfect examples of a department that has been afforded too much power.
Had Labour won the last General Election then they were committed to undertaking a review of HMRC.
I wholeheartedly agree with Mr Aplin that an independent review should be carried out and that should also include whether or not HMRC should be subjected to “independent oversight…. to make it more accountable.” What do you think?
Absolutely! HMRC have time machines to change the law when they will loose a tax case and demand up front payment + interest. DOTAS was a con as ppl declared everything on their tax returns only to be hounded by HMRC 10 years later! This is not justice. Retrospectively changing law and intent of full disclosure and then taxing ppl when tax was never due is a blatant miscarriage of justice and a violation of human rights. They are now bullies, lie in court and mislead parliament.