16 September 2010
- Turnaround times to lengthen
- Comes hot on the heels of the PAYE debacle
- Worries over what kind of service will result from austerity drive
HMRC has disclosed that it is has started to cut essential services despite Government promises that spending cuts would not affect frontline services, says Clive Gawthorpe, partner in our Manchester office.
The cuts come hot on the heels of news that the errors with HMRC’s PAYE system means 1.4m people are being chased for the underpayment of £2bn of tax.
The cuts mean that turnaround times for processing of a number of important forms will get much worse. Forms that previously took seven days to process will now take up to eight weeks! HMRC has also announced it is to stop issuing copies of some information that is sent to taxpayers to their tax advisers.
Clive says: “It is worrying that proof that austerity measures in HMRC will lead to a further slip in standards is emerging so quickly.”
“Considering the shock waves from the PAYE debacle you would have thought that HMRC and The Treasury would want to watch service standards very closely but it seems there are no lessons to be learnt.”
Clive says that the cuts in services will have a real tangible impact on the ease with which taxpayers are able to fulfil their obligations and ensure they do not overpay their tax. He explains that it will lengthen the time taken to get tax rebates and create delays in dealing with the paperwork for the self-employed setting up new businesses.
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