The president of the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) has criticised HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) over its ‘inefficient’ customer service, and called for a complete Government rethink.
The news comes shortly after the ATT issued a comprehensive report which examined a number of issues surrounding HMRC’s customer service.
Michael Steed, president of the ATT, labelled HMRC an “inefficient operating tax system”.
Mr Steed pointed towards HMRC’s recent adoption of digital technology as an ongoing burden, arguing that the Taxman was “digitally distracted”.
“It is imperative that HMRC ensures that a well-functioning and well-informed service to personal taxpayers is in place before it goes further with digitalisation,” he said.
“A digitally distracted HMRC is focusing so much on the projects related to the future delivery of services that it has evidently been paying far too little attention to the here and now.”
The comments follow recent HMRC confirmation that consultation documents on their controversial Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative will be postponed until after the June 23 EU Referendum.