HMRC under fire for backlog of tax cases
HM REVENUE & Customs (HMRC) has been criticised by the National Audit Office (NAO) for failing to deal with its huge backlog of more than 18m unresolved income tax cases.
The NAO said about half the 18.2m cases might involve underpayment or overpayment of tax.
It warned that as much as £4.4bn was at stake.
The Revenue acknowledged it had “a lot of work to do”.
“Just like every government department we are going to have to do more with less and today’s report will help us to focus on those areas of our business that need to improve,” said an HMRC spokeswoman.
The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) also blamed the continued backlog on cuts to
the Revenue’s resources. “Repeated staffing cuts have stretched HMRC to the limit,” said Tina Riches of the CIOT.
“Further cuts are likely to create even more difficulties,” she added yesterday.