A blue folder with a white label saying 'evidence' sits on top of a pile of pens and ring-binder note books

ATT submits evidence to Public Accounts Committee

18 December, 2023

On 16 October 2023, the ATT submitted evidence to the Public Accounts Committee's scrutiny of HMRC's 2022-23 performance. We are able to publish our evidence now that has been published by the Committee. 

In ATT's view, HMRC’s current performance is patchy at best. When systems and processes work, they can work well and quickly. But when things don’t work, taxpayers can experience significant issues and it is very difficult to find someone within HMRC to take ownership and resolve the issue.

System problems can be particularly frustrating. If the computer says no, taxpayers and their agents are left going in circles around different helplines trying to find a solution. Our members are very frustrated with HMRC’s current performance and we are struggling to see that significant improvement in performance is achievable in the short to medium term with HMRC’s current resources.

We support HMRC’s longer term digital ambitions, but there is a big gap between where we are now, and the promised, sunlit digital uplands of the future. It is difficult to see how HMRC can bridge that gap.

We would like to see:

  • More detailed, published targets for the processing of post, beyond the 15 working day target and including details of the amount of post over six and 12 months.
  • Direct access by phone or email to the Agent Maintainer Team.
  • More digital services for agents, specifically the ability to amend or update PAYE codes online.
  • More testing of new or updated services by agents/tax professionals – in addition to the testing HMRC carries out with the general public.