The President of the CIOT has said that the temporary closure of the self-assessment helpline is ‘another flashing indicator that HMRC can’t cope with everything it is being tasked with’.
He is calling on the government to resource HMRC to provide the level of service that the UK’s taxpayers need, especially when considering that the helpline, which has been closed until September, had more than a million people use it during this same time last year.
Gary Ashford, President of the CIOT, said, “For those of you who missed it, HMRC has announced that from today [Monday 12th June 2023] it is closing its Self-Assessment Helpline for three months, directing taxpayers to its digital services instead.
“The rationale is that this will free up advisers to take calls on other lines and answer correspondence.”
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Email JaimeGary added, “Has it really come to this? That to deal with demand and backlogs in other areas HMRC has to shut one of its best-used helplines for three months? A helpline that more than a million people called during this period last year.
“Surely the first rule of tax compliance has to be that you make it as easy as possible for those trying to comply to do so?
“Businesses are being left unable to operate while waiting for registrations. Taxpayers are being left waiting many months for repayments. Taxpayers and their advisers are being left in limbo, unable to get timely answers to their legitimate queries.
“It is not enough to simply shift people around. HMRC has to be adequately resourced to provide the services taxpayers need.”
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