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This week's opinion: 12 June 2025

09 June 2025 / Andrew Hubbard
Issue: 4988 / Categories: Comment & Analysis

How taxpayers prefer to interact with HMRC


If you are going to publish a research report that you want people to read then giving it the title HMRC Costly Channels usage among Small Businesses is probably not going to get the adrenaline pumping: indeed I missed its significance first time round. In fact there is lot in here about how we absorb information which will be of real interest to anybody dealing with client interaction.

The research is looking at why people use methods of contact with HMRC which the department regards as costly ie those which involve manual processes or direct contact with an individual in HMRC rather than non-costly (horrible term!) channels such as HMRC webpages webchat or an automated telephone system. Asking a tax agent is also in the non-costly category because it doesn’t create a cost to HMRC.

There are several important conclusions. The first is that no one size...

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