Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 13
23rd Report - The cost of the tax system
Published 30 Apr 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee The cost of the tax system All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We asked HMRC what areas of the tax system need to be addressed to achieve efficiencies. HMRC said the tax system is very complex, which generates opportunities for evasion and avoidance, can cause errors and increase costs through greater customer contact, as taxpayers seek reassurance from HMRC on what they need to do.21 It explained that it can often be very difficult to simplify tax policy because complexity can be there for good reasons, such as to achieve policy objectives and maintain fairness. However, HMRC said that simplification is the main way to help reduce burdens on business. It explained that, since the abolition of the Office of Tax Simplification in 2022, HMRC and Treasury policy advisers are responsible for covering simplification in their advice to Ministers. It told us that some announcements on simplification had been made at the 2024 Autumn Budget, and it hoped that further announcements could be made in spring 2025.22 Trust in HMRC
From: Public Accounts Committee, 23rd Report - The cost of the tax system (HC 645), 30 April 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 18 September 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" on each of the report's recommendations, and reports that several are already implemented while others carry target dates.
- On simplification, the government will publish HMRC's Transformation Roadmap in summer 2025, which "will include the metrics HMRC will use to report progress".
- On trust, the government agrees with both recommendations and describes them as "Recommendation implemented", citing annual customer surveys, complaints data and focus groups.
- On compliance productivity, it says HMRC "will recruit an additional 5,500 compliance staff by March 2030", alongside other measures to close the tax gap.
- On legacy IT, HMRC "will write to the Committee" on its remediation plans, forecast cost and expected savings, with a target implementation date of September 2025.