HMRC’s renewed strategy for dealing with alcohol duty fraud is a significant improvement on the previous strategy. However, the Department needs a reliable estimate of the tax gaps for beer and wine; and to tackle successfully the illicit diversion of duty-unpaid alcohol back into the UK market.
There are serious risks to HMRC’s business if the programme to replace the Aspire contract fails to meet its objectives by June 2017, when the contract ends.
The programme to increase online filing of tax returns has made significant progress, but HMRC needs a better understanding of the benefits and costs to customers and how its online filing costs compare to those for paper returns.
HM Revenue and Customs will have to make sure its staff have the right skills if the Department is to succeed in cutting its running costs by 25 per cent by 2014-2015 and bringing in each year an extra £7 billion of tax revenue.
This Departmental Overview is one of 17 we have produced covering our work on each major government department. It summarises our work on HM Revenue & Customs during 2010-2011.
HMRC faces a significant challenge in securing a £1.6 billion reduction in running costs over the next four years, at the same time as increasing tax revenues, improving customer service and achieving reductions in welfare payments.
The NAO has published its report on the 2010-11 accounts of HM Revenue and Customs.
Reported fraud in Employment Programmes is low despite past flaws such as in the New Deal. New improvement controls are better, yet risks remain.
HMRC’s civil investigations directorates, which examine serious cases of suspected tax evasion, have generated increasing returns from their work, while reducing resources. However, there is scope for them to achieve more.
Despite some welcome improvements, HMRC’s performance in answering calls from the public is poor value for money.
HMRC might be able to increase tax revenues by providing more support to professional tax agents, third parties paid by taxpayers to act on their behalf in their dealings with the Department.
The NAO has published its report on the 2009-10 accounts of HM Revenue and Customs.
DWP does not yet have enough evidence to demonstrate that its activities to reduce the cost of mistakes by customers have been value for money. Although mistakes are difficult to detect, correct and prevent, the scale of overpayments and underpayments demonstrates a clear need for improvement.
This short guide is one of 17 we have produced covering our work on each major government department. It summarises our work on HM Revenue & Customs during the last Parliament.
PaceSetter has led to productivity improvements and may have contributed to greater staff engagement. However, the extent to which overall efficiency has improved is not clear; and some key principles of process improvement are not yet being applied strategically across the entire organisation.
HM Revenue and Customs’ performance in answering telephone calls in 2008-09 was well below its own targets and industry standards, the National Audit Office has reported today. In its Customer Contact Directorate, which answers 95 per cent of calls to the Department’s contact centres, only 57 per cent of 103 million call attempts were answered, compared […]
Older people are a growing group for HM Revenue & Customs and significant numbers pay too much or too little tax, according to a report released today by the National Audit Office. Errors occur because many people’s tax affairs become more complicated when they reach pension age and HMRC’s systems do not cope well with […]
DWP has not reduced the mistakes made by staff processing benefits. In 2009-10 it overpaid an estimated £1.1 billion and made underpayments of £500 million. However, the scale of the challenge facing the Department should not be underestimated.
This report examines government’s implementation of COVID-19 employment support schemes.
HMRC has taken significant steps to improve the efficiency of National Insurance administration, but needs to demonstrate more clearly that it is providing value for money from the £350 million it spends each year and take advantage of opportunities to secure further savings.