Engagement with HMRC

A number of the Tax Faculty team and active members attended the annual HMRC stakeholder conference on 16 February where important stakeholder relationships were renewed in person and the topics of tax simplification, customs, the roles of intermediaries, digital transformation and small business tax and customer services were debated. HMRC recognises that it needs to listen to and work with all stakeholders to improve the tax system.

Tax Faculty staff and members attended a meeting of the Representative Bodies Steering Group. Matters discussed included next steps for Making Tax Digital (MTD), HMRC’s service standards, the use of the tax agent dedicated line and how professional bodies could help to ensure that post is dealt with efficiently by HMRC. 

Representational work

The Tax Faculty held a number of meetings with HMRC about a proposed proof of concept trial of a new in-year self assessment calculator with the objective of helping taxpayers plan for their tax payments. It is expected to start in April 2024. Several concerns have been raised including how this work interacts with the MTD income tax self assessment (ITSA) project. 

A team of Tax Faculty staff and active members also met with HMRC staff to discuss concerns about HMRC’s ‘one to many letters’, in particular the language and tone of the letters, the need for accurate targeting and also evaluation. 

HMRC service standards

HMRC’s service standards remain the number one concern for ICAEW members. In addition to raising the media profile of our concerns (see below), ICAEW’s Tax Faculty has joined with other professional bodies to gather feedback on HMRC’s performance against standards in the HMRC Charter. 

Tax simplification

Tax Faculty staff attended a meeting of the representative bodies to discuss potential next steps in the tax simplification proposals and how progress can be maintained on the simplification agenda. The representatives also discussed the tax administration framework review and that HMRC needs to set out a clear roadmap for engagement with the professional bodies and likely outcomes.

Tax representations

During the period we submitted comments on changes made to HMRC’s guidance on R&D tax relief and also a response to HMRC’s consultation on audio visual tax reliefs.

Presentations

On 1 February, Tax Faculty board member Paul Aplin was joined by two HMRC Directors General, Jonathan Athow and Jo Rowland, to record an ICAEW podcast on digitalisation and the future of tax. It took a broad look at the opportunities and challenges that technology presents for tax administration. 

Tax Faculty Committee meetings

Tax Faculty staff attended a meeting of ICAEW’s Practice Committee where we had a lengthy feedback session with committee members on problems being experienced with HMRC’s service standards and their resulting impact on the ability of UK plc to go about its daily business. We agreed to engage in further discussions with committee members and explore alternative approaches to raising these concerns that might stimulate improvements.

During the period there were also meetings of the Private Client Committee, the Tax Policy and Reputation Committee and regular informal calls of the Tax Faculty Board. 

Making tax digital

Tax Faculty staff met with HMRC’s MTD policy team to make the case for policy changes that would change the narrative on MTD ITSA, highlighting concerns over quarterly updates and the importance of ITSA records being moved to HMRC’s new platform. We also had a follow-up meeting with HMRC to discuss some of the concerns in more detail. 

Other consultation forums and meetings

We chaired a meeting of the pan-professional Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation (PCRT) group where the topics discussed included the interaction of the revised HMRC agent standards with PCRT and whether PCRT might need to be amended to reflect activities in the repayment agent sector – it was agreed to consider these at a further meeting. 

Several members of the Tax Faculty team joined colleagues from the Financial Reporting Faculty for a discussion with members working in large businesses on the Pillar 2 proposals and their impact on accounts disclosures. 

Media

ICAEW media quotes in respect of customer service standards were picked up and developed by BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.