HMRC U-turn on helpline closures
Earlier this week, HMRC announced that it would be scaling back its tax helplines, a move that was widely criticised. It has now seemingly reversed the decision. What’s going on?
Earlier this week HMRC announced cuts to several phone services, including closing of the self-assessment helpline for six months. The intention was to allocate staff resources elsewhere and make taxpayers move to online services such as the HMRC app. The changes were supposed to be permanent, with helplines open only for priority queries at critical times. However, the announcement was met with substantial criticism from the CIOT president who described the move as “misguided”.
In response to the backlash, HMRC issued another press release stating that its plans would be halted while it engages with its stakeholders about how to ensure all taxpayers’ needs - including small businesses' - are met as HMRC shifts more people to online self-service in the longer term. Phonelines will therefore remain open for now.
Related Topics
-
The tax incentive to do a thorough stock-take
The annual stock-take isn’t exactly your favourite thing to do. You know resources could be better spent elsewhere so you try to get through it as quickly as possible. Why might it be worth a little more of your time?
-
MONTHLY FOCUS: STARTING TO THINK ABOUT VAT
The VAT registration threshold has barely changed over the last decade. As a result, more businesses are having to register. In this Focus, we look at the key considerations for a business that needs to register, or one that may be considering doing so on a voluntary basis.
-
Unused sales suppression tools can still trigger penalties
HMRC has published a new compliance factsheet explaining the penalties that can apply where a business possesses an electronic sales suppression (ESS) tool, even if it has never actually been used to suppress a sale. What do you need to know?