The newly-appointed president of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) is urging ministers to fully resource HMRC to improve service levels to taxpayers and advisers.
Gary Ashford suggested during his inaugural speech as president that HMRC staff levels are too low and reliance on technology has been misplaced.
Phone wait times for taxpayers have skyrocketed in recent months, with some claiming to be on hold for up to 27 minutes – a dramatic increase on the 12-minute average wait in January 2022.
In a bid to streamline its processes, HMRC has been encouraging taxpayers to find answers to their questions online, most recently closing its VAT registration line to give its staff more time to process applications.
Ashford, who said he would “always defend HMRC”, expressed doubts about HMRC’s reliance on technology to improve its services, however:
“HMRC have 6,000 fewer customer service staff than they did five years ago.
“Now, I’m a true believer in the power and the potential of technology but cutting staff numbers now in anticipation of efficiencies from digitalisation which have not yet arrived, seems to me to be putting the cart before the horse.”
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