HMRC-is it time to call the Army in?

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Why are there unprocessed 2022/23 tax returns submitted in December 2023 if the below is correct? Please regulators ask Jim that question (surely no post should be left unanswered for longer than 2 months based on that statistic)...unless Jim just chases statistics and treats a cohort of taxpayers sooooooooooooooooo unfairly.


While HMRC has improved its handling of correspondence, with 76.3% dealt with within 15 working days (up from 72.7%), this still falls short of its 80% target.

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HMRC's Hammer House of Harra fails to get on the podium (but don't worry...they think they are world class ):


The HMRC Charter annual report,1 published yesterday, includes a report from the Charter Stakeholder Group,2 on which CIOT is represented. It includes the findings of a survey carried out earlier this year on whether tax agents and taxpayers believe HMRC are meeting their Charter standards.

The survey received nearly 1,650 responses, with complaints about service levels a recurring theme. It found that:

“Being responsive” scored the lowest of the Charter standards, with an average score of just 2.4 out of 10

“Making things easy” and “getting things right” also scored poorly, at 2.8 and 3.5 respectively

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Hammer House of Harra-episode 995

It is generally accepted that if HMRC was properly manned with experienced, fully trained investigative staff, the low-hanging fruit would bring in billions. Further, the deterrent effect would mean that UK plc was considerably richer going forwards.

In the past few days, the media has concentrated on a single area of HMRC’s annual report in which the department (which has a natural tendency to underestimate losses through inefficiency) estimates that fraud and error relating to research and development (R&D) tax claims has totalled £4.1bn in the past four years.

Over that period the sums involved ran at somewhere in the region of 15% of all sums paid, although they inexplicably reduced last year. Perhaps a recount is required?

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LABOUR ISN'T WORKING!

HMRC Hammer House of Harra episode 996

Seemingly still nobody has asked Sir Jim why HMRC deal with post received last Thursday before submissions made last December (8 1/2 months ago). Idiotic and totally unfair management procedures encouraged by the diplodocuses who set goals that encourage this state of affairs.

When will the regulators ask Sir Jim this question?

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If I was Keir I would poach Next's Customer Service Executive and let them loose in HMRC. No holding in a queue (they call you back and in under 5 minutes) and the people you speak to are informed and a delight.

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Headline:

HMRC’s failings let family dodge £600k IHT bill
An appeal involving a deathbed tax planning scheme should have failed, but the tribunal was forced to find in favour of the taxpayers because of HMRC’s procedural failings.

Comment:

By Rob Swan
28th Aug 2024 08:03
HMRC is a mess!

Many who deal with them occasionally and most (it seems) who deal with them regularly are well aware of this and, IMHO... No surprise!

Listening to a recent ICAEW podcast (I know!), the Probate Registry are also in a similar mess - replace people with (shiny new) IT system - which doesn't work, reduce skilled staff, increase poorly skilled staff, etc.

Seems to me this is a trend across Government - replace skilled personnel with incomplete IT systems which don't work.

What could possibly go wrong?

Further observations:

King Charles' goffer who recommended he give Hammer House of Harra a knighthood is getting to look stupider by the day....and he looked bloody idiotic on day 1.

And what have Labour done to bring about promised change? viz 2022/23 tax returns filed 9 months ago still not processed.

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My real-life experience suggests the Hammer House of Harra delay for HMRC processing 2022/23 tax returns requiring a human is 9 months. Suspect that will not show up in HMRC's performance statistics.

PS Having praised my recent customer service experience at Next, I am less pleased with Yodel. Their messaging staff are armed with a plethora of prepared paragraphs none of which answer the question you have asked. Would not be surprised to be told someone has knicked my golf clubs seemingly missing in action from their tracking system. Perhaps an employer for Sir Jim to consider when those in power work out 2/10 is not a good rating for HMRC to be given, but seemingly a perfect fit for the courier firm.

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My parcel's journey

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31/08/24
20:11
Despatched from GATESHEAD DEPOT

Point 1: if anyone sees Brendan Foster playing with a set of TaylorMade irons please can they alert me

Point 2: The preferred spelling is "dispatch" in modern English, while "despatch" is an alternative spelling that was more common in the 19th century and earlier.