A shift in HMRC priorities after the Covid pandemic

Key points

• At the outset of the pandemic HMRC shifted its priorities and resources away from compliance activities and into Covid schemes.
• The committee published its findings and resolutions on HMRC’s tax compliance record.

The House of Commons’ Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published its report Managing tax compliance following the pandemic (tinyurl.com/PACReport052023). The committee made six findings and corresponding recommendations to improve HMRC’s tax compliance record.

1. Staffing and compliance

The committee found that HMRC’s response to the pandemic inevitably meant that the department would reduce its tax compliance activity. In 2020-21 HMRC opened 114 000 (32%) fewer cases than the previous year and paused ongoing cases. During the two pandemic years the compliance yield per staff member fell from £1.3m a year to £1.1m. While HMRC has made a recruitment push the yield return per staff member is...