As many as four million phone calls to HMRC go unanswered every year, leaving taxpayers and businesses “in the dark” as they attempt to navigate the UK’s increasingly complex tax system.
The figure emerged during a hearing of the Commons Business Committee last week, where MPs questioned officials about the tax authority’s ability to collect the £46.8 billion in tax owed but not yet recovered.
Labour MP Liam Byrne pressed HMRC executives on customer service levels, asking how many calls from the public were going unanswered. In response, Jonathan Athow, HMRC’s Director General of Customer Strategy and Tax Design, admitted that with the department funded to respond to only 85 per cent of calls, the number left unanswered could reach “three, maybe three or four million calls potentially.”
The revelation has prompted sharp criticism from the tax industry, which warns that inadequate support risks undermining compliance and the government’s own revenue targets.
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