Recommendation 16

The HMRC Charter promises to “provide services that are designed around what [the customer] need[s] to do, and are accessible, easy and quick to use, minimising the cost to [them]”.27 HMRC’s surveys have found a significant proportion of taxpayers do not find it easy to deal with HMRC. In 2023, 71% of large businesses said they found it easy to deal with HMRC, but only 38% of agents found it easy. The proportion of agents saying they found it easy had fallen from 50% in 2019.28 HMRC appoints a customer compliance manager for each large business.29 The manager is expected to build an in–depth knowledge of the business. HMRC says their primary role is to make sure businesses pay the correct amount of tax, at the right time.30