Tardy HMRC guidance throws sand in tax’s gears

"I was not impressed." Best review I've read so far of the (laughingly mis-titled) new Guidance.

It's more like copy'n'pasting all my paperwork generated by garages who were servicing my car over the last 5 years ... and calling the result an engineer's Guide to Car Maintenance.

"Tax administration should not be a game of cat and mouse between HMRC, GDS and the tax profession. These organisations should work together to make the tax system run as smoothly as possible and enable taxpayers to easily pay the right amount of tax at the right time.

Putting barriers in the way of publishing necessary guidance in a timely manner, and designing systems that cut out tax agents, throws sand into the gears of an already creaking machine."

This statement says it all, but just a dream I fear.

As I have said many times on here, and I mean this as no exaggeration, almost all of the problems with the tax system could be solved by a meaningful engagement with the agent community right the way through the process from your step 2 onwards. If that was done with both sides being willing to listen and implement suggestions the whole system would become efficient.

A typical agent will deal with almost all aspects of the system during a given year, both technically and practically, dealing with both Mr & Mrs public and HMRC.

It's really not complicated, take the 30/60 day CGT farce for example - as soon as the idea was mooted, asking for (and implementing) of agent feedback would have made the system actually work efficiently, agents would have been on board from the start as they would have helped design the system.

A great article. A copy should be sent to every MP.

Last week I received a reply from HMRC self assessment department to a letter I sent on 19 August 2021!!!!! SO over a YEAR later.
And even then they totally disregarded what I said in the letter, said I had provided the wrong info and would need to do it again.

So half an hour on the phone and they agreed we had sent the correct info and it would be reopened. We can expect a reply within 12 weeks apparently.

So I say it again. GET YOUR OWN HOUSE IN ORDER HMRC BEFORE YOU BRING IN THESE HUGE CHANGES WHICH WILL CAUSE MANY CLIENTS ADDITIONAL UNNECESSARY COSTS AND ADMIN.

And yes I am cross.

"However, navigating the tax system requires more than a good knowledge of tax law. "

That's putting it mildly

An excellent article Rebecca, but as HMRC don't listen to anyone, what good will the article achieve? Take MTD as an example. The profession has reached the point of screaming at HMRC but HMRC has its fingers in its ears. I had thought HMRC was at least listening to the software industry but no, https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/accounting-software/mtd-itsa-guidan...

"“If we raise something that’s important it tends to be sidelined and HMRC presses on ahead regardless – they don’t seem to be listening to software developers."

So HMRC is not listening to anyone. Any business that does not listen to its customers will lose those customers. HMRC has a monopoly so we can't take our business elsewhere, but if HMRC's regimes become unworkable, our clients are not going to pay us to workaround them. So we'll end up not even attempting to make them work.

I feel the problem is HMRC has lost contact with its customers and in its isolation HMRC has become arrogant and developed a misconception of what the typical taxpayer is and what that taxpayer can reasonably be excepted to achieve in terms of compliance with tax requirements. In its arrogance, HMRC have forgotten that all these small businesses owners have businesses to run: HMRC now feels those taxpayer's primary duty is to HMRC, and not the taxpayer's means of survival, their business. Whilst forming this arrogant misconception, HMRC themselves no longer consider their own purpose (the assessing and collection of tax) as being of importance, so HMRC cares not that HMRC take a year to respond to correspondence and that they are making mistakes and their IT is not fir for purpose. I blame Jim Harra and the culture that has developed. HMRC needs to unplug its ears, listen to its "customers" and remember what it exists for.

2 September 2022 10:04
Wonderful article Rebecca

This adds to my belief that the Manuals together with Toolkits will become, especially in an automated digital MTD world, the be all and end all of taxation rules.

This will ignore, inter alia :-

1. Tax case law
2. The Taxes acts and their interpretation
3. The decisions made by Tribunals
4. the experience of years of continuing education and reading of wonderful tax books

It is not that they are a bad source of information it is just that it only sees the world of tax through the viewpoint of the Government that sets the legislation, it will not necessarily be helpful in helping the taxpayer to plan for the best outcome and legal solution to their tax problem.

When I worked for HMRC, many moons ago, the prevalent ideology of the staff was that accountants were a pain simply because they held the staff to account for mistakes far more readily than the taxpayers did. It seems since then, all HMRC are doing with any 'improvement' (and I advise that word is used under extreme caution in relation to anything HMRC do) is try to cut out the accountants at every opportunity. This will not end well.

Further evidence of HMRC shirking its responsibilities and letting the professions and the taxpayers do their work for them.

Superb analysis Rebecca. I agree entirely. Some of the comments here though (and elsewhere) blame HMRC for problems which are actually caused by the PM and Chancellor.

I'm not saying HMRC are blameless but we should be clear who is at fault for specific problems and then we can focus our complaints and advice accordingly.