HMRC’S treatment of taxpayers is shocking

The migration of most Whitehall business with the public from personal contact to online has been progressing for some time. It is known as “digital by default” and has spread to all areas, like it or not.

People with no easy access to the internet, a lack of technological acumen or a simple unwillingness to use an online service are effectively disenfranchised. The most egregious example of this trend was the announcement that HM Revenue and Customs wanted to close its helpline for half the year because “changes to helpline services to encourage people to go online first have been successfully trialled over the last year”.

If the only option is to go online because it takes ages to get through on the phone, it is hardly surprising that HMRC could point to a greater take-up of its digital services. The aim did not seem to be better serving taxpayers but making life easier for those who work in the tax office or, more likely, do so from home.

Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, responded to the furious public reaction by promising to look again at the proposal, even though it was announced on the official GOV.UK website just 24 hours earlier. Presumably, it had been cleared by senior Treasury officials beforehand. Mr Hunt has told the tax office to “pause” the changes, but that is not the same as scrapping them. Indeed, the “digital by default” protocols dictate that this will go ahead at some point, whatever he says.

It is undoubtedly the case that online services can be quick and easy, for instance retaxing a car or obtaining a passport. However, tax returns are not only complex but increasingly so as governments load ever greater burdens on to those who pay, and especially the self-employed. People care about getting their taxes right, not least because failure to do so can lead to a heavy fine. HMRC used to be proud of the speed of its responses. It was even possible once to arrange a personal appointment with a taxman to discuss any problems.

The underlying assumption behind these so-called reforms is that digital is easy, accessible and modern. If it was cheaper, there might be an argument in its favour and yet there never seems to be any consequential reduction in officials.

More older people are being dragged into tax and therefore required to submit self-assessment forms online. To be told that HMRC cannot even be bothered to offer help for six months of the year is outrageous.