HMRC to slash 300 jobs
The Guardian reports today that HMRC will cut their workforce by 300 in the next year. You may think that this is a good thing because it’s 300 less people who might be giving you a hard time, but actually it’s a very bad thing and this is why:
[fancy_list style=”arrow_list”]- 1. Larger companies are more difficult to investigate because they are complex and have the resources to use top tax advisers, as the HMRC workforce is slashed it becomes more attractive to pick on the small and medium sized businesses (SME’s).
- 2. Most people just want to pay the right amount of tax, they want to be on the right tax code and if they put in a return they want it to be accurate. This is often extremely difficult to do because tax is so complex. What these people need it to be able to pick up the phone and talk to somebody qualified who can quickly answer questions to make sure everything is in order. The cutbacks will mean less staff to do this.
- 3. HMRC needs to attract high calibre staff to make the tax system run smoothly and fairly – today’s job cuts will discourage the best people from applying to work at HMRC.
Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the PCS union, whose members work for HMRC is quoted as saying, “Instead of investing in the department that collects the taxes that fund the public services we all rely on, it is making it harder to chase down these wealthy individuals and organisations.”
Full story in the Guardian here.
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