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Vulnerable taxpayers are to be offered a mobile HMRC support service in place of the current enquiry centres, which have seen demand plunge by more than half over recent years.
The new initiative for those who need extra help with their tax affairs will be tested in the summer, providing one-to-one support in a range of locations, including individual’s homes and businesses. Specially trained advisers will also be available by phone.
Vulnerable taxpayers are to be offered a mobile HMRC support service in place of the current enquiry centres, which have seen demand plunge by more than half over recent years.
The new initiative for those who need extra help with their tax affairs will be tested in the summer, providing one-to-one support in a range of locations, including individual’s homes and businesses. Specially trained advisers will also be available by phone.
The Revenue estimates that the provision will save taxpayers almost £12m a year in lost time and travel costs, and will be more than £3m cheaper annually to run than the current set-up, which will be shut down next year.
The 281 walk-in enquiry centres have seen visitor numbers fall from 5m in 2005/06 to fewer than 2.5m in 2011/12.
Some locations open just one day a week as a result of the reduced demand that is a result of taxpayers’ preference for digital and phone services. HMRC say they handle “more than 60m calls a year and millions of online transactions”.
A five-month pilot of the new system will run in the northeast of England from 3 June to 31 October. The taxman has pledged to do “everything possible” to redeploy enquiry centres’ 1,300 staff members, or help them to find roles elsewhere in the Civil Service.
HMRC chief executive Lin Homer said, “This new service will enable us to tailor help in a way that works better for taxpayers and is more flexible and affordable than the service we currently provide. We… will provide a more modern and accessible service that will target the right support to customers who need it, where and when they want it.”
The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) claimed the closure of enquiry centres had been “inevitable”. The professional body went on to back the Revenue’s new support strategy, with the proviso the trial phase be used to “carefully assess the needs of those who cannot deal with HMRC through other channels”.
“Occasions arise when there is a need to use a physical HMRC location; when no available alternative works,” said CIOT president Patrick Stevens.
“More importantly, some unrepresented taxpayers have a need for help and support that websites and helplines cannot deliver,” he added.
