HMRC held its 2025 Stakeholder Conference in London on 16 September 2025, combining speeches from senior government and HMRC officials with a question and answer session as well as workshops on a range of issues, including Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax.  

Update on HMRC’s priorities  

Daniel Tomlinson MP, who succeeded James Murray MP as XST on 1 September 2025, gave the keynote speech. As XST, Tomlinson is responsible for the UK’s tax system and is Chair of the HMRC Board. Addressing the conference, the XST said he was committed to continuing the work of his predecessor and would be challenging HMRC “to follow through on its transformation plans”.  

He then gave an update on HMRC’s work to deliver on the three priorities set for it by the government. HMRC’s first priority is to improve the services it provides to taxpayers, driven by the provision of new and expanded digital services. The XST said that “every day, more people are getting a better service by using HMRC’s digital services” and that this had helped to cut call waiting times.  

HMRC’s second and third priorities are to close the tax gap and to reform and modernise the tax system. Referring to previous announcements, the XST outlined the additional funds HMRC will have to do this and how those funds will be used, including recruiting and training 5,500 new compliance caseworkers.  

Importantly, the XST said that he is “committed to HMRC working in partnership” with its stakeholders and that HMRC will “approach its discussions with transparency and a willingness to listen to [stakeholders’] ideas and work through their implications in a spirit of collaboration”.  

Making Tax Digital for income tax 

Referring to MTD for income tax, the XST said he was “grateful for the critical role [stakeholders] have played in getting us to this point – preparing your members, challenging us on the detail, and increasingly getting on board”.  

There was also a surprise recognition of the work done by Caroline Miskin, who led on MTD for income tax for ICAEW up to her retirement in August 2025. Caroline was thanked for  vigorously challenging HMRC in a positive way by Jonathan Athow, HMRC Director General Customer Strategy and Tax Design, in his speech to the conference.  Frank Haskew, Head of Taxation Strategy, ICAEW, said: “It was great to see a former ICAEW staff member given a special vote of thanks and recognition in front of a packed audience  – well done Caroline!”.   

MTD for income tax was the subject of a workshop later in the day where HMRC gave attendees a preview of its upcoming advertising campaign.  

Further information 

• Watch the XST’s speech on YouTube
• To learn more about HMRC’s plans to meet the priorities set for it by government, listen to the latest episode of ICAEW’s The Tax Track podcast where we question HMRC’s Jonathan Athow on HMRC’s transformation roadmap, and more.