Move a welcome development, offering “stronger ministerial oversight” of the tax office following a drop in customer service levels
The government has announced that a dedicated minister has been made the Chair of the HMRC Board, providing ministerial oversight of the department for the first time.
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and MP for Ealing North, James Murray, has already begun his new role. In it, he will “oversee the implementation” of three new strategic priorities as the tax authority looks to improve on its recent record of poor service levels.
Of those three priorities – “closing the tax gap, modernising and reforming, and improving customer service” – the last will be the most pressing for the UK’s self-employed.
In recent years, HMRC has faced criticism from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and from a number of industry bodies, including the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) over falling customer service levels, including long call wait times. HMRC’s own statistics, published in its 2023/24 annual accounts, reflect this.
IPSE is one of many bodies across the self-employed sector that has previously called for “closer political oversight of HMRC” – both over service levels, and in the way it interacts with self-employed workers in particular.
As such, the body has welcomed the appointment as a sign that the Chancellor is “listening to frustrated taxpayers” and their concerns.
Government confirms HMRC’s new “Digital Transformation Roadmap”
Alongside Murray’s appointment, the government also announced that HMRC’s “new Digital Transformation Roadmap” will be published in the spring of next year.
HMRC’s shift to digital customer service is one way that the body hopes to improve service levels. By directing taxpayers to “self-serve online where they can”, HMRC hopes to reduce pressures on its customer service telephony function.
However, in its 2023/24 annual accounts, the tax authority recognised that some taxpayers, “including the digitally excluded… have struggled to get the help that they need”.
As such, the government hopes the new Digital Transformation Roadmap will “ensure digital inclusion and support for customers who cannot yet interact digitally” and improve the digital service offering thanks to improved “customer insight”.
Finally, the government also confirmed its plans to recruit “an additional 5000 compliance staff” at HMRC to “help close the tax gap”.
“Unprecedented” appointment is a step in the right direction, says IPSE
Labelling the appointment of Murray to the role of Chair as “unprecedented”, IPSE said that, while unconventional, the move was also much needed.
“For the Chancellor to break with convention and charge a minister with keeping a closer eye on HMRC is a bold step – but the right one, said the association’s Policy Director, Andy Chamberlain.
“Taxpayers have become immensely frustrated with the service they’re getting from the taxman and feel they have no recourse through elected officials when the department acts unfairly.
“We’ve been campaigning for stronger ministerial oversight of HMRC as a means to turn the ship around and build more trust between taxpayers and the taxman.
“We welcome James Murray’s appointment as Chair of HMRC’s board and look forward to supporting his work on HMRC’s strategic priorities”, Chamberlain concluded.
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