HMRC’s surprising statistics

The latest annual report and accounts show a large increase in tax revenues collected by HMRC over the year – £814bn in 2022/23, up from £731.1bn in 2021/22. £34bn of these revenues was generated through HMRC measure to tackle avoidance, evasion and other non-compliance.

Other really positive statistics include 912,000 customers being supported to pay their tax debt in a Time to Pay arrangement, which helped taxpayers through the cost-of-living crisis. There were also 99,000 fewer reports of HMRC-related telephone scams which is welcome news. 

It is reported that 79.2% of customers who use HMRC’s phone support, webchat and digital services are satisfied with the service they receive. This is not to say that HMRC staff who operate these much-needed support lines do not provide a good service, but it is assumed that the data comes from the survey offered by HMRC at the end of a phone call (or webchat). It would be interesting to understand how many taxpayers participate in those surveys compared to the numbers of traffic reaching the services. It is also presumed that those taxpayers who do not reach the HMRC agent as the line drops before speaking to anyone are not included within the data. Is this statistic therefore a true representation of customer satisfaction?

Further, it was reported that 72.7% of correspondence received from taxpayers in the year was turned around within 15 days. For most people who correspond with HMRC, whether privately and most certainly professionally, we believe this statistic will be a surprise, and the metrics or context behind it requires further explanation. It is widely publicised in the press that taxpayers are waiting months, and in some cases, years for HMRC action or response. HMRC has recently shut its self-assessment helpline during the period 12 June 2023 to 4 September 2023, just to free up 350 advisers to take urgent calls on other lines and to answer customer correspondence, which surely indicates that there is an issue with delayed responses to taxpayers.

The annual report is audited by the National Audit Office, so the statistics must be correct. We are seeing an increasing number of acknowledgement letters and emails from HMRC, confirming that they will be in touch in due course with a full response, which makes us wonder, does this type of letter help HMRC achieve its high turnaround statistics?   

It is important to note, HMRC is under increasing pressure to generate higher tax revenues from a shrinking workforce and is implementing many digital tools to help take the pressure off its officers. With £718m paid out in cost-of-living payments to eligible tax credits customers in 2022/23, and more than £98bn paid out in Covid financial support since the launch, there is no doubt HMRC has helped a significant number of taxpayers. 

However, the publication of these potentially misleading statistics may paint a picture of an organisation almost hitting key objectives, rather than highlighting the increasing number of reports of dissatisfied taxpayers that are unable to reach HMRC or the continuing delays taxpayers are facing for HMRC response or action.