Treasury Committee to grill HMRC
The Treasury Committee will question senior HMRC officials and board members as part of the Committee’s ongoing scrutiny into the work of HM Revenue and Customs.
Meeting details
With four days' notice, HMRC closed its Self-Assessment (SA) helpline between 12 June and 4 September as part of a new ‘seasonal telephone model’ pilot. HMRC told the Committee the model aims to adapt to the seasonal demand of the SA helpline, which receives fewer calls in the summer months, so that resources can be re-allocated elsewhere. Further questions about HMRC’s customer service standards have been raised from HMRC’s Annual Report and Accounts, which acknowledges it missed key service targets.
MPs are likely to ask witnesses about these issues, and whether HMRC can meet its customer service standards. They may also ask about upcoming changes to the capital gains tax threshold, the ‘Tax-Gap’ and the delivery of IT systems.
Following the closure of the Office for Tax Simplification, the Committee published a report on Tax simplification in June, recommending the Government report annually on its steps to simplify the tax system. The organisation’s performance and progress on this is also likely to be examined by the Committee.
MPs are also likely to look at tax avoidance linked to umbrella companies, how HMRC is managing tax debt, its budget, and wider staffing issues.