This week’s opinion: 16 November 2023

13 November 2023 / Andrew Hubbard

Issue: 4913 / Categories: Comment & Analysis

HMRC should not regard agents as a threat

There is an interesting quote on page 20 of the, frankly rather dull, research report into agents of wealthy clients recently published by HMRC (tinyurl.com/hmrcreswealthy). A respondent from a small firm says: ‘Agents are there to help the client and help HMRC collect revenue. We’re not a threat as we seem to be considered by HMRC.’

That is only one individual’s view of course, but it does reflect a strand of opinion which I often hear expressed. Are agents really a threat to HMRC? There is no doubt that a tiny minority of agents have (and perhaps continue to) indulged in behaviour which is beyond the pale and are a real threat to the integrity of the tax system. It is in all our interests that they are squeezed out. But in the vast majority of cases I don’t see agents as a threat to the system. Far from it – without agents HMRC’s job would be much more difficult.

Agents are there to represent their clients: they don’t occupy an intermediate space between the client and HMRC. How an agent deals with HMRC is ultimately a matter for their professional judgment and the client’s instructions. Some agents take a collaborative approach with HMRC to problem solving – there are others who don’t give an inch and take every legal route open to them to advance their client’s case. That stance must be incredibly frustrating to individual HMRC officers trying to resolve matters, but it would be quite wrong to construe it as a threat.

Whether such an approach ultimately is in the best interests of clients can only be judged on a case-by-case basis. Collaboration often gets the best results, but sometimes an alternative approach can be more productive.