Taxpayers joining the queue at Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs for repayments of overpaid tax face waiting in line for as long as three months.
The “unsatisfactory” delays, which affect both individuals and businesses, mainly stem from the department’s efficiency drive leaving it with fewer staff and resources.
Evidencing its claims, the UK’s leading chartered accountancy body said 60% of its members felt service problems at HMRC were costing them more time and more money.
A further third of ICAEW members said that their bill for dealing with the problems had “increased significantly” when, also, compared with this time last year.
Advisors represented by the group have used its website to report delays at HMRC in repayment of personal tax, and recently corporation tax, lasting just over 11 weeks.
“We remain concerned that the laudable aims of the government are not being realised ‘on the ground,’” the ICAEW said in a statement.
“We are very concerned that the effect of the efficiency programme is that, taken as a whole, the level of customer services has not improved - and in some areas has deteriorated.”
Signalling its frustration, the group explained that concerns for taxpayers it voiced in 2007 around the dismantling of HMRC’s local office network had gone unaddressed.
At the time, the institute said the new structures which HMRC introduced to replace its local network “did not appear to provide adequate support mechanisms.”
Now it says HMRC should focus on better trained staff, not least because many of the most experienced ones have been shed, and improve its IT systems and IT support.
Yet under the efficiency drive, around 12,500 staff will be cut in the future, in addition to the 12,500 who have already been let go, as HMRC cuts costs, in real terms, by 5% a year.
The ICAEW said: “There is widespread concern that the result is that services ‘on the ground’ are less efficient, resulting in considerable wasted time and costs for taxpayers, agents and HMRC.”
One of the group’s members hinted the delays were the most frustrating for taxpayers, as, under HMRC, interest is no longer payable on their tax repayments.
Jun 11, 2009
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