Will budget cuts at HMRC affect the future?
HM Revenue and Customs is in the headlines for all the wrong reasons at the moment with billions of pounds outstanding due to technical problems with historic tax data although if forecast budget cuts of up to 25% are confirmed by the government then the situation could get much worse.
As doomsday a scenario as it may seem, many believe that HM Revenue and Customs is already operating on a reduced budget even though it is one of the more vital areas of the UK government. If there is a problem with the UK taxation system we could well see legal challenges in the future which would not only be expensive but could cause problems with future tax collection. Even though we fully expect to see budget cuts with regards to the taxation office it is easy to forget that billions upon billions of pounds have been spent on new computer systems over the last decade with many now questioning whether there is indeed a return on investment for taxpayers?
How is it that it is taken decades to come to the conclusion that historic taxation data has been incorrect and some people have underpaid their tax and some people have overpaid their tax?
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