Almost 9 in 10 business owners say poor service from HMRC is causing a ‘big hurdle’

HMRC’s customer service levels have plummeted to such a level that most business owners say it is now affecting their business.

A survey by the Association of Certified Public Accountants (ACCA) shared exclusively with This is Money found that 89 per cent of business owners said low service levels at the tax office are having a negative impact.

Only one per cent said the HMRC service had a positive impact on the running of their business.

Despite accountants and business owners raising concerns with HMRC, standards have only deteriorated.

The same survey carried out in March found that 66 per cent of business owners said HMRC was negatively affecting their business, and only 52 per cent said the same in October 2023.

In a letter to the Chancellor ahead of the Budget, ACCA said: “It is difficult to overstate the levels of concern and frustration that a substantial proportion of our members experience in their contact with HMRC and the impact this has on their clients’ businesses.” .

“This includes significant delays by HMRC costing taxpayers, agents and HMRC time, as well as failures by HMRC in handling requests from basic processing such as VAT registration, to more complex areas such as managing tax queries. tax credit for R&D”.

We first highlighted the problems with HMRC services last year, before the permanent closure of the HMRC VAT registration helpline.

Readers spoke of their frustration at not being able to contact an HMRC agent, with some saying the delays had made them consider moving their business abroad.

An HMRC expert told us that a “culture of fear” and too much micromanagement were behind the delays.

ACCA members highlighted communication as the priority, with 91 per cent calling for a reduction in call waiting times.

Data from accounting firm UHY Hacker Young found taxpayers spent 719 years waiting on HMRC last year.

The average call duration has increased 19 percent, from 22 minutes and 41 seconds to 71 minutes and two seconds.

ACCA has highlighted that the government and HMRC must do more to “recognise the value of the time savings and confidence” that trained HMRC agents offer.

He also said the move to bring in digital taxes is “overly complex”, which has knock-on effects for small businesses and the self-employed, as well as HMRC itself.

It calls on the government to invest more in HMRC to improve customer service and deliver the “modern, efficient tax system we need”.

A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to improving customer service performance at HMRC, and the Chancellor will set out further details in the Budget.”