The very reason tax experts exist is that you can’t expect everybody to become one. It’s a complex area where issues often cannot be solved with a Google search. Being able to pick up the phone and talk to someone when faced with a tax issue is arguably a basic service that HMRC should be able to provide without fuss.
Alas, that is very much not the case. Last week, HMRC prompted an outcry across the financial services industry by announcing the closure of its self-assessment helpline between April and September this year, with people encouraged to use online services instead. The helpline would then only deal with priority calls for the remaining months.
The changes were reversed the following day following a backlash. HMRC chief executive Jim Harra admitted that the transition to digital services “needs to match the public appetite for managing their tax affairs online” and that “more needs to be done to ensure all taxpayers’ needs are met”. This was just the latest episode in a long-standing saga of issues with the tax office, which appears underfunded, understaffed and generally overwhelmed, at a time when the tax burden is increasing and more people need support. The self-assessment helpline was only open for priority calls between December and January, for example, at its busiest time of the year because of the self-assessment deadline on 31 January.