CIOT president Susan Ball has repeated calls for increased government investment in HMRC to improve the department’s ‘unacceptable service levels’ which ‘are impacting the finances and cashflow of businesses and individuals and hampering HMRC’s ability to adequately support taxpayers and businesses’.
Immediate action is required to speed up the time taken to deal with taxpayer claims and queries, Balls said, and she warned against premature cuts to HMRC staffing levels. She also called for the government to review the MTD programme so it delivers better service to taxpayers. While the CIOT supports digitalisation, ‘the current timetable for MTD for income tax is unrealistic,’ she said. ‘Taxpayer obligations are not yet clear, approved software is limited (and) the pilot is not yet up to speed. The government should revisit and consider whether a more gradual, phased approach to MTD will ultimately deliver better results.’
CIOT president Susan Ball has repeated calls for increased government investment in HMRC to improve the department’s ‘unacceptable service levels’ which ‘are impacting the finances and cashflow of businesses and individuals and hampering HMRC’s ability to adequately support taxpayers and businesses’.
Immediate action is required to speed up the time taken to deal with taxpayer claims and queries, Balls said, and she warned against premature cuts to HMRC staffing levels. She also called for the government to review the MTD programme so it delivers better service to taxpayers. While the CIOT supports digitalisation, ‘the current timetable for MTD for income tax is unrealistic,’ she said. ‘Taxpayer obligations are not yet clear, approved software is limited (and) the pilot is not yet up to speed. The government should revisit and consider whether a more gradual, phased approach to MTD will ultimately deliver better results.’
