Recommendations & Conclusions
20 items
2
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
While we recognise the progress HMRC is making to tackle tax debt, we are concerned that it should have sufficient checks to protect taxpayers from being pursued too forcefully. HMRC says it has now worked through the debts created during the pandemic but still new tax debt is being created …
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While we recognise the progress HMRC is making to tackle tax debt, we are concerned that it should have sufficient checks to protect taxpayers from being pursued too forcefully. HMRC says it has now worked through the debts created during the pandemic but still new tax debt is being created at record levels, driven by self-employed people and small businesses in financial difficulties. It is reassuring that HMRC appears to be staying on top of these new debts, with the debt balance expected to reduce slightly over the course of 2023–24. It is also positive that HMRC is driving more value from the external agencies it uses to collect debts, with the rate of return improving from £23:£1 to £32:£1. However, we have heard about cases where taxpayers are being pursued repeatedly for often trivial amounts. While HMRC should make every effort to recover its debts, this should be proportionate to the size of the debt and the circumstances of the taxpayer. We are not convinced that customers have an easily accessible and responsive route via which they can raise concerns about HMRC’s debt collection activities. Recommendation 2: HMRC should: a) establish a clear, easily accessible route for taxpayers to report issues they face when dealing with debt collection agencies working on behalf of HMRC; and b) report back to the Committee with a summary of any issues raised and how HMRC has dealt with them.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and will update GOV.UK guidance to clarify how taxpayers can raise complaints about debt collection agencies. HMRC also commits to writing separately to the Committee with a summary of issues raised by these complaints.
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HM Treasury
3
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
HMRC is not taking seriously enough the distress caused to innocent citizens when companies use the wrong address to register their business. One particular case involved a taxpayer receiving more than 10,000 letters due to an agent registering companies for VAT at the taxpayer’s address rather than a serviced office …
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HMRC is not taking seriously enough the distress caused to innocent citizens when companies use the wrong address to register their business. One particular case involved a taxpayer receiving more than 10,000 letters due to an agent registering companies for VAT at the taxpayer’s address rather than a serviced office that shared the same postcode. Despite this Committee repeatedly raising this case, HMRC was unable to prevent further letters being sent out to the wrong address, including 6 HMRC performance in 2022–23 demands for payment, and even now HMRC cannot guarantee further letters will not be sent. We are concerned that there will be other cases not brought to our attention that remain unresolved. These cases create particular distress for innocent citizens receiving these demands for payments, and an extraordinary amount of time and effort to resolve with HMRC. While HMRC considers this particular case to be a “bizarre accident”, it accepts there is a more widespread issue with bogus registrations from companies seeking to defraud HMRC. It expects new powers for Companies House will help the entire system tackle this issue. Recommendation 3: We expect HMRC to take serious action against companies registering with the wrong addresses. HMRC should report back to the Committee on: • the scale of the issue and the level of tax at risk; and • its plans for ensuring innocent people do not suffer from bogus registrations and HMRC’s demands for tax from the wrong people.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and states HMRC already takes immediate action to correct misdirected letters, acts to de-register/prevent registration for fraud, and prevents correspondence to incorrect addresses. HMRC may also notify true owners of addresses.
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HM Treasury
4
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
We are concerned that HMRC’s approach to serious abuse is not deterring criminal activity sufficiently, while at the same time its approach to tackling IR35 is deterring legitimate economic activity. HMRC says that it is increasingly focusing its criminal prosecutions on the most serious cases, with the number of criminal …
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We are concerned that HMRC’s approach to serious abuse is not deterring criminal activity sufficiently, while at the same time its approach to tackling IR35 is deterring legitimate economic activity. HMRC says that it is increasingly focusing its criminal prosecutions on the most serious cases, with the number of criminal prosecutions falling from 691 in 2019–20 to 240 in 2022–23. But we are concerned that if fewer criminals are prosecuted this sends the wrong message. In the case of civil disputes over the application of IR35 rules, HMRC said that it has been using litigation through the courts to test the employment status rules and that it may need to update its guidance and tools on the basis of the courts’ judgements. HMRC said that the reforms to IR35 shift the burden of determining employment status from workers to employers. Since the IR35 reforms, employers have moved between 150,000 and 200,000 workers from contractor status onto their own payroll. However, we are concerned that a lack of confidence in how to apply the rules, together with HMRC’s tough approach when taxpayers make mistakes, is deterring companies from using contractors unnecessarily. Recommendation 4: HMRC should: a) provide to the Committee further detail of the value of tax at stake in cases of criminal prosecutions in recent years and further explanation of how HMRC is using fewer prosecutions to achieve greater deterrence of egregious non-compliance; b) provide to the Committee the number of active litigation cases for IR35 and the amount of tax at risk; and c) assess the impact of HMRC’s approach to administering IR35 reforms on the use of contractors in different sectors.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees. HMRC added an optional question to its Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool on 27 March 2024, asking customers for their sector, to better understand usage and identify specific sectoral challenges related to IR35 reforms.
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HM Treasury
5
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
HMRC has been too slow to identify the scale of error and fraud in research and development tax reliefs and its approach to tackling offenders does not sufficiently target those committing serious fraud over those making honest mistakes. We have been highlighting the risk of error and fraud on these …
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HMRC has been too slow to identify the scale of error and fraud in research and development tax reliefs and its approach to tackling offenders does not sufficiently target those committing serious fraud over those making honest mistakes. We have been highlighting the risk of error and fraud on these schemes for a number of HMRC performance in 2022–23 7 years. HMRC has improved its methodology and now has a more accurate picture of the level of abuse. Its estimate of error and fraud on the schemes in 2020–21 has more than trebled, from £336 million to £1.1 billion. On the scheme for small- and medium-sized enterprises, it has found one-quarter of the value of claims were non- compliant. However, HMRC’s approach to recovering this error and fraud is too passive and places too much reliance on companies correcting their own previous mistakes. We are not convinced that it is bearing down strongly enough on those companies, and the agents representing them, that have been consistently abusing the system. Recommendation 5: Now that it understands the true scale of error and fraud, HMRC should ensure it goes back over previous years. This should involve: • going back sufficiently far to tackle egregious fraud; and • telling those businesses who made honest mistakes to correct their returns or risk investigation.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees. HMRC states it can look back up to 20 years for deliberate non-compliance in R&D tax reliefs. Additionally, an R&D Disclosure Facility will go live on GOV.UK in spring 2024 to allow businesses to correct overclaimed or erroneous returns.
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HM Treasury
6
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
HMRC’s reliance on the tax gap measure is not providing a sufficiently stretching target for its compliance performance. The tax gap is subject to a variety of factors, not just HMRC’s compliance performance, and its relationship to compliance yield is not straightforward. In 2021–22, the latest year available, HMRC estimated …
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HMRC’s reliance on the tax gap measure is not providing a sufficiently stretching target for its compliance performance. The tax gap is subject to a variety of factors, not just HMRC’s compliance performance, and its relationship to compliance yield is not straightforward. In 2021–22, the latest year available, HMRC estimated the tax gap had remained at 4.8% of all liabilities, despite compliance yield as a proportion of theoretical tax liabilities declining in that year. The lag in measuring the tax gap means that HMRC must pay closer attention to compliance yield as an indicator of performance in the short term. In 2022–23, HMRC’s compliance yield was £34 billion, against a target of £36 billion, set at a level to maintain the tax gap. HMRC expects to miss its compliance yield target again in both 2023–24 and 2024–25, and identified inflation as negatively affecting its performance on compliance yield. We are concerned that HMRC places too much reliance on the tax gap measure to justify its performance, rather than focusing on achieving its compliance yield targets, which are a more direct measure of its performance. Recommendation 6: HMRC needs to demonstrate that its compliance yield target is sufficiently ambitious to provide stretch in HMRC’s performance each year and to take account of inflation in the tax base. 8 HMRC performance in 2022–23 1 Supporting taxpayers
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees, stating the recommendation is implemented as HMRC's compliance yield target is already set using an agreed methodology with HM Treasury and OBR, ensuring it's ambitious, aligns with maintaining a stable tax gap, and increases with tax receipts and inflation.
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HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on its performance in 2022–23.1 HMRC published its annual report and accounts for 2022–23 in July 2023.
Government response AI summary
The government states it agrees HMRC should be sufficiently resourced and highlights a £0.9 billion cash increase for HMRC from the 2021 Spending Review, including over £130 million for enhancing digital services.
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HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
HMRC has recently increased its use of external agencies.18 In 2022–23 it spent £34.0 million on agencies to recover tax debt, up from £20.6 million in 2021–22.19 A new contract 9 Q 31 10 Q 83 11 Qq 84–85 12 Q 83 13 HMRCSR0007 Institute of Chartered Accountants in England …
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HMRC has recently increased its use of external agencies.18 In 2022–23 it spent £34.0 million on agencies to recover tax debt, up from £20.6 million in 2021–22.19 A new contract 9 Q 31 10 Q 83 11 Qq 84–85 12 Q 83 13 HMRCSR0007 Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales; HMRCSR0009 Association of Taxation Technicians; HMRCSR0015 Chartered Institute of Taxation; HMRCSR0017 Low Incomes Tax Reform Group 14 Qq 87, 89–90 15 Q 37 16 C&AG’s Report, para 7 17 Qq 37, 38 18 Q 36 19 C&AG’s Report, para 1.14 10 HMRC performance in 2022–23 with these agencies from September 2022 means the rate of return that HMRC gets from this spending has improved, from £23 of debt recovered for every £1 spent to £32 for every £1 spent.20 HMRC said it has long-standing relationships with some of the agencies, which has allowed it to streamline the processes and help the agencies to be more effective. We asked HMRC about the accountability arrangements for these agencies. HMRC told us that they are all part of a Government framework and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and that HMRC agrees and oversees the letters and the processes that they follow.21 HMRC said that customers wishing to make a complaint about how they have been treated by an agency working on behalf of HMRC would do so through HMRC’s complaints procedures.22 However, we noted that in June 2023 the Adjudicator’s Office reported concerns with HMRC’s complaints procedures, with significant backlogs and increasing numbers of customers receiving no or little meaningful response from HMRC for long periods of time. HMRC said that the number of complaints has been increasing, mainly down to the time taken by HMRC to respond to queries, and that it is increasing its resources for complaints management.23
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the observation and will update GOV.UK guidance by September 2024 to provide clearer information on how taxpayers can complain to HMRC about Debt Collection Agencies. HMRC will also provide the Committee with a separate summary of complaint issues.
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HM Treasury
8
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
We have received written evidence that HMRC repeatedly pursues small debts over a number of years.24 We asked HMRC whether this was disproportionate to the size of the debt. HMRC told us it takes a risk-based approach to debt management and will pursue even small debts if it is cost-effective …
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We have received written evidence that HMRC repeatedly pursues small debts over a number of years.24 We asked HMRC whether this was disproportionate to the size of the debt. HMRC told us it takes a risk-based approach to debt management and will pursue even small debts if it is cost-effective to do so. It said that small debts will stay on a taxpayer’s record and HMRC will periodically contact taxpayers for payment.25 Each year HMRC judges particular debts as no longer worth pursuing, either because there are no practical means of pursuing that debt or because it is not worthwhile on value-for- money or hardship grounds. In 2022–23 these revenue losses totalled £3.8 billion, up from £2.4 billion in 2021–22.26 HMRC told us it expects these losses to continue to increase as HMRC progresses with clearing its debt balance.27 Address registration
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and will update GOV.UK by September 2024 to provide clearer guidance on how taxpayers can raise complaints to HMRC regarding the handling of their cases by Debt Collection Agencies.
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HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
We asked HMRC about a taxpayer who has received more than 10,000 letters from HMRC in relation to companies registered incorrectly at his address. HMRC told us it has investigated and found a foreign agent acting on behalf of overseas companies had incorrectly registered those companies for VAT at the …
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We asked HMRC about a taxpayer who has received more than 10,000 letters from HMRC in relation to companies registered incorrectly at his address. HMRC told us it has investigated and found a foreign agent acting on behalf of overseas companies had incorrectly registered those companies for VAT at the taxpayer’s address rather than a serviced office that shared the same postcode. HMRC told us it had found no evidence of an attempt to defraud HMRC and that the incorrect registrations were a “bizarre accident”.28 HMRC said that these overseas businesses do not always understand their obligations.29 However, Borderfree Trade Limited told us HMRC’s guidance is often 20 Qq 45–46; C&AG’s Report, para 1.14 21 Qq 46, 48 22 Qq 52–53 23 Q 86; C&AG’s Report, para 1.43 24 HMRCSR0003 David Dibbens 25 Q 36 26 C&AG’s Report, para 1.17 27 Q 43 28 Q 16 29 Q 19 HMRC performance in 2022–23 11 contradictory and sometimes incorrect.30 HMRC described some of the ways it is seeking to educate overseas companies further, including through providing Mandarin language guidance and having a liaison officer in Beijing.31
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation and states the recommendation is implemented. HMRC commits to immediate action on misdirected letters and preventing fraudulent registrations, and is working closely with Companies House to implement the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which will strengthen …
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HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
We have raised this case with HMRC on several occasions in the past, but the taxpayer affected has continued to receive letters, including demands for payments.32 HMRC told us that addresses on its VAT system feed through into other systems, including for customs purposes. But the corrections it has made …
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We have raised this case with HMRC on several occasions in the past, but the taxpayer affected has continued to receive letters, including demands for payments.32 HMRC told us that addresses on its VAT system feed through into other systems, including for customs purposes. But the corrections it has made to addresses on the VAT system have not always fed through to these other systems and HMRC accepted its systems still need to catch up. It said until they do there was still a risk that the affected taxpayer will receive further letters in error.33 HMRC said it was not confident it will recover all of the outstanding debts it is pursuing in this particular case.34
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented. HMRC will take immediate action to correct misdirected letters, prevent registration with fraudulent addresses, and prevent automatic correspondence to incorrect addresses. HMRC is also working with Companies House to strengthen registration controls and improve data accuracy …
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HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
HMRC highlighted a more widespread problem with bogus registrations, where companies hijack taxpayers’ identities in an attempt to defraud HMRC.35 We have received written evidence on the time it takes for HMRC to resolve these cases and the distress this causes to those concerned.36 HMRC told us that Companies House …
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HMRC highlighted a more widespread problem with bogus registrations, where companies hijack taxpayers’ identities in an attempt to defraud HMRC.35 We have received written evidence on the time it takes for HMRC to resolve these cases and the distress this causes to those concerned.36 HMRC told us that Companies House has recently acquired new powers that will allow it to challenge information before it goes on its register as well as remove information. HMRC said that these changes will allow the entire system to better protect citizens from this type of fraud.37 30 HMRCSR004 Borderfree Trade Limited 31 Q 19 32 Q 19 33 Qq 16–17 34 Q 19 35 Q 18 36 HMRCSR0012 Hillier Hopkins LLP 37 Q 18 12 HMRC performance in 2022–23 2 Managing error and fraud, compliance and tax avoidance Off-payroll working
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation and states the recommendation is implemented. HMRC commits to immediate action on misdirected letters and preventing fraudulent registrations, and is working closely with Companies House to implement the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which will strengthen …
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HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
We asked HMRC about how it is addressing issues created by the implementation of reforms to the IR35 rules on off-payroll working. HMRC said that the reforms to IR35 shift the burden of determining employment status from workers to employers. HMRC told us that it provides tools and guidance to …
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We asked HMRC about how it is addressing issues created by the implementation of reforms to the IR35 rules on off-payroll working. HMRC said that the reforms to IR35 shift the burden of determining employment status from workers to employers. HMRC told us that it provides tools and guidance to ensure employers can apply the correct tax treatment to their workers.38 We asked about the impact of the reforms on certain sectors, particularly the broadcasting sector, and the restrictions the rules were placing on people working as self-employed contractors. We also raised concerns that the complexity of the rules was driving some companies overseas.39 HMRC said that since the reforms, employers have moved between 150,000 and 200,000 people from being paid through personal service companies to being on the company’s payroll.40 It said it would be HM Treasury’s role to review the impact of IR35 as a policy, although HMRC keeps under review how it is administering the policy.41
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented. HMRC remains committed to understanding the impacts of off-payroll working reforms, having published relevant research and analysis which it will update. From March 2024, HMRC has also added an optional sector question to its CEST tool …
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HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
We asked whether HMRC’s pursuit of some IR35 cases through the courts was fair and proportionate. HMRC said it will always try to resolve disputes by agreement but that some litigation is inevitable. HMRC said it does not underestimate the stress involved when a taxpayer is facing potential litigation. It …
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We asked whether HMRC’s pursuit of some IR35 cases through the courts was fair and proportionate. HMRC said it will always try to resolve disputes by agreement but that some litigation is inevitable. HMRC said it does not underestimate the stress involved when a taxpayer is facing potential litigation. It has published a litigation and settlement strategy that sets out when it will pursue a dispute through litigation.42 It said that much of the well-publicised litigation relates to cases before the reforms, and that around 70% of recent employment status disputes have been ruled in favour of HMRC.43 HMRC reports that IR35 litigation is rare, with only 22 cases heard at the First-Tier Tribunal since 2017.44 HMRC said through this litigation it has been testing the employment status rules and how they can be applied.45 It said it may need to update its guidance and tools on the basis of the courts’ judgements.46 However, HMRC did not accept that its guidance was not clear.47
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, explaining that HMRC already makes litigation decisions in line with its published Litigation and Settlement Strategy. HMRC aims to resolve disputes by agreement and only persists with litigation where it expects success and a strong return …
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HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
HMRC’s approach to civil litigation contrasts with its approach to criminal prosecutions. HMRC said it is increasingly selective about when it uses its criminal investigation powers and when it seeks prosecution.48 HMRC’s criminal investigations resulted in 240 prosecutions in 2022–23. This is a significant reduction on the 691 prosecutions achieved …
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HMRC’s approach to civil litigation contrasts with its approach to criminal prosecutions. HMRC said it is increasingly selective about when it uses its criminal investigation powers and when it seeks prosecution.48 HMRC’s criminal investigations resulted in 240 prosecutions in 2022–23. This is a significant reduction on the 691 prosecutions achieved in 2019–20.49 To pursue deliberate errors, it is now more likely to use its civil powers and penalties, including new powers to freeze accounts or get people disqualified as directors. It said it will only resort to criminal investigation and prosecution 38 Qq 1–3 39 Qq 10, 11 40 Q 4; Letter to the Public Accounts Committee from HMRC, dated 11 January 2024 41 Q 11 42 Q 10 43 Qq 4,10 44 Letter to the Public Accounts Committee from HMRC, dated 11 January 2024 45 Q 1 46 Qq 8,13 47 Q 9 48 Q 33 49 C&AG’s Report, para 1.30 HMRC performance in 2022–23 13 when the crimes are serious or when it needs to use criminal powers to get at the evidence. HMRC told us the reduction in criminal prosecutions is also partly due to backlogs in the criminal justice system.50 Research and development tax reliefs
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and will provide further explanation by Summer 2024. HMRC is already working on a previous recommendation to review the deterrent effect of criminal investigations and prosecutions, collecting data for analysis to provide a refreshed view of the impact of tax crime prosecutions.
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HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
HMRC administers two research and development relief schemes to support companies that work on innovative projects in science and technology, one for large companies and one for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In 2022–23, businesses claimed research and development tax reliefs worth £10.2 billion.51 HMRC has previously told the Committee …
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HMRC administers two research and development relief schemes to support companies that work on innovative projects in science and technology, one for large companies and one for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In 2022–23, businesses claimed research and development tax reliefs worth £10.2 billion.51 HMRC has previously told the Committee that the reliefs are an attractive target for abuse by companies that have not carried out any research and development or by advisors pushing the boundaries of what is eligible to be claimed.52 However, HMRC has previously underestimated the level of error and fraud in these schemes and in 2022–23 used the results of a mandatory random enquiry programme (MREP) for the first time to calculate its estimate of error and fraud. HMRC estimated the level of error and fraud in 2022–23 was £1.1 billion, or 13.3% of related expenditure. HMRC also used the results of the MREP to revise its estimate of error and fraud in 2020–21 up from £336 million (3.6%) to £1.13 billion (16.7%).53 HMRC did not restate its estimate for 2019–20 or 2021–22, but told us that it is reasonable to assume that the actual level of error and fraud in those years was significantly higher than it had estimated.54 For the SME scheme, HMRC has found 24.4% of the value of claims in 2020–21 were non-compliant, with around two-fifths of these (10% of all claims) showing indicators of fraud rather than resulting from error.55 HMRC said that it expects claimants to correct previous years’ claims where fraud or error has been identified through its compliance activity.56
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation and is implementing several measures by Summer 2024, including new electronic claim requirements, increased R&D compliance staff to over 500, establishment of an Anti-Abuse Unit, and the launch of an R&D Disclosure Facility in Spring 2024 to tackle …
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HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
HMRC has introduced a number of changes in response to the high levels of abuse. Since August 2023 HMRC requires companies to make all claims digitally, with more detail and endorsed by a named senior officer.57 It told us it is no longer paying claims directly to tax agents, and …
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HMRC has introduced a number of changes in response to the high levels of abuse. Since August 2023 HMRC requires companies to make all claims digitally, with more detail and endorsed by a named senior officer.57 It told us it is no longer paying claims directly to tax agents, and it now requires companies to disclose the identity of agents involved in the claim. It said that these changes should help fewer genuine claimants be subjected to HMRC’s compliance approach. HMRC has increased the number of compliance checks for research and development tax relief claims, now checking over 20% of claims compared with around 1% previously.58 HMRC told us that its increased compliance work has raised an estimated £250 million in 2022–23, but it has not estimated the impact of the new policy measures it has introduced.59
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation and has a target implementation date of Summer 2024 for various measures to combat R&D tax relief abuse, including new electronic claim requirements, increased compliance staffing, an Anti-Abuse Unit, and an R&D Disclosure Facility launching in Spring 2024.
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HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
Organisations representing accountants and tax professionals wrote to us with concerns about the impact of HMRC’s volume compliance approach on companies.60 50 Qq 33, 34 51 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.2, 2.4 52 Committee of Public Accounts, HMRC performance in 2021–22, 33rd Report of Session 2022–23, HC 686, 11 January 2023, …
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Organisations representing accountants and tax professionals wrote to us with concerns about the impact of HMRC’s volume compliance approach on companies.60 50 Qq 33, 34 51 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.2, 2.4 52 Committee of Public Accounts, HMRC performance in 2021–22, 33rd Report of Session 2022–23, HC 686, 11 January 2023, para 22 53 C&AG’s Report, para 2.6, Figure 11 54 Q 56; C&AG’s Report, Figure 11 55 Q 57; C&AG’s Report, para 11 56 Q 59 57 C&AG’s Report, para 2.18 58 Qq 60–62 59 Q 58 60 HMRCSR0007 Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales; HMRCSR0015 Chartered Institute of Taxation 14 HMRC performance in 2022–23 They felt HMRC compliance staff treated companies with suspicion and lack the necessary expertise and training to determine whether projects qualify as research and development for tax purposes. They raised concerns that HMRC’s approach was discouraging some firms from investing in research and development. HMRC told us it had needed to act in response to the high levels of error and fraud and does not accept its actions have discouraged research and development investment. It said that it needs to listen to feedback from its customers, and that the new information requirements it has introduced should allow HMRC to better target its compliance checks.61 It accepted that it does not have large numbers of engineering experts in-house but that these are typically not needed for its volume compliance work. It explained that for higher-level disputes it can bring in expertise externally or from other parts of government.62 The tax gap
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation and intends to implement measures by Summer 2024, including new electronic claim requirements to better risk assess R&D claims, increased compliance staff to over 500, a new Anti-Abuse Unit, and an R&D Disclosure Facility launching in Spring 2024.
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HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
The tax gap is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC and what was actually paid. HMRC estimates the tax gap in 2021–22, the latest year available, has remained at 4.8% of all liabilities. This is despite the tax revenue HMRC generated …
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The tax gap is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC and what was actually paid. HMRC estimates the tax gap in 2021–22, the latest year available, has remained at 4.8% of all liabilities. This is despite the tax revenue HMRC generated from its compliance work declining as a percentage of theoretical tax liabilities in that year.63 HMRC said that the relationship between the tax gap and compliance yield is not straightforward and that there are a variety of other factors that can affect the tax gap.64
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the conclusion, stating the recommendation has been implemented through an agreed methodology with HMRC, HM Treasury, and the OBR, which sets annual compliance yield targets to maintain a stable tax gap and secure additional revenues.
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HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
HMRC said that it estimates the tax gap in accordance with best practice, and pointed to a review by the Office for Statistics Regulation in 2019 as evidence of rigorous external scrutiny. It said it was always keen to improve its tax gap estimates if it can.65 HMRC said that …
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HMRC said that it estimates the tax gap in accordance with best practice, and pointed to a review by the Office for Statistics Regulation in 2019 as evidence of rigorous external scrutiny. It said it was always keen to improve its tax gap estimates if it can.65 HMRC said that the tax gap can only be properly measured two or three years after the year in question, and that it is best viewed over a number of years rather than a point in time.66 For assessing performance in the latest year, HMRC instead uses compliance yield to assess how effectively it is managing the tax gap in the short term.67
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees, stating the recommendation is implemented via an existing methodology, agreed with HM Treasury and OBR, which sets annual compliance yield targets to align with maintaining a stable tax gap and secure revenues.
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HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - HMRC performance in …
Accepted
HMRC agrees a compliance yield target each year with HM Treasury and ministers, set at a level to maintain the tax gap at its current level.68 HMRC told us that this target is derived from a model endorsed by the Office for Budget Responsibility. Given how this model is set …
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HMRC agrees a compliance yield target each year with HM Treasury and ministers, set at a level to maintain the tax gap at its current level.68 HMRC told us that this target is derived from a model endorsed by the Office for Budget Responsibility. Given how this model is set up, the target is closely linked to expected tax revenue for that year.69 We have previously expressed concern that any compliance yield projections or targets HMRC expresses in cash terms will not be sufficiently stretching during a period of high inflation.70 However, HMRC said that more employees earning more and hence paying more tax does not necessarily increase the tax gap, as there is little non-compliance associated with Pay As You Earn taxation.71 In addition, a lot of HMRC’s compliance yield comes from settling cases relating to prior years. HMRC said that this causes a lag in 61 Q 62 62 Q 64 63 C&AG’s Report, para 5 64 Qq 24–25 65 Q 24 66 Qq 24, 31 67 Q 30; C&AG’s Report, para 1.26 68 C&AG’s Report, para 1.26 69 Q 26 70 Committee of Public Accounts, HMRC performance in 2021–22, 33rd Report of Session 2022–23, HC 686, 11 January 2023 71 Q 31 HMRC performance in 2022–23 15 its compliance yield performance, which has been accentuated by increasing tax revenues due to inflation. In 2022–23, HMRC’s compliance yield was £34 billion, up 10% from the previous year but £2 billion below its target of £36 billion. HMRC said that it did not expect to hit its compliance yield targets for 2023–24 or 2024–25.72 72 Qq 25, 26; C&AG’s Report, para 6 16 HMRC performance in 2022–23
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees, stating the recommendation has been implemented through an agreed methodology with HMRC, HM Treasury, and the OBR, which sets annual compliance yield targets to align with maintaining a stable tax gap and securing additional revenues.
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HM Treasury