What improvements would you like to see from HMRC

WannaBLoaded

chrismac1 wrote: »

In my experience people who profess to "hate the government" are at the front of the queue jumping up and down when their local surgery or fire station closes, bin collection gets less frequent, planning department gets slower due to cuts, etc.

In the USA, when polled nearly 60% of people think government should be smaller. But when asked what departments should be cut amongst the high spending areas, 35% is about the maximum % you can get to tell a pollster that department X should be cut.

In other words, the majority of the US public want something for nothing. I don't have the figures for the UK but I bet they'd be even more extreme here.

never complained to the council once in my life, or used the nhs since i was born.

I have, out of a sort of civil disobedience, withheld around 600 pounds from my local council for about two years, but that was because i did not like the tone of their demands.

jem16

WannaBLoaded wrote: »

Yes, but there is earning a living and then there is being part of a business designed to shaft the poor and make the rich richer.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the people employed within HMRC, the majority of which I have found, are very helpful. Many will go out of their way to try to help you pay as little tax as is due and sort out any refunds.

However there are many self employed cowboys who go about shafting and scamming many people, especially the elderly. They choose to do that and it is well within their own powers not to do so. These people I would happily see put out of business.

dori2o

I'd like to update on one of the suggestions put forwards earlier.

The issue of making BACS repayments for PAYE/P800 refunds instead of issuing cheques to the bank.

There is due to be an update to the PAYE service in April 2016. Part of this update will include a change to the way repayments are issued and will provide the ability to issue payments via BACS instead of having to send the cheque to the bank which I am aware does have some issues.

I know it seems like a long time to wait for this change but they will only update the systems at scheduled times and there is always an update in April. It's simply all down to cost.

However there is still no word on when HMRC will change to the Faster Payment service for repayments. However I have put forward a comment on this issue.

jem16

dori2o wrote: »

I know it seems like a long time to wait for this change but they will only update the systems at scheduled times and there is always an update in April. It's simply all down to cost.

Thanks - at least it is now being implemented.

wheelz

Had to use the SA helpline for the first time this year and was surprised that staff can't see the form as you filled it in. You have the (SA tax return) form in front of you and can't mention box so and so as they don't see the form. It makes it hard to communicate.

Also some statements and tax codes notification are on my online account yet other letters aren't. It would make sense if everything would be available in your online account.

dori2o

wheelz wrote: »

Had to use the SA helpline for the first time this year and was surprised that staff can't see the form as you filled it in. You have the (SA tax return) form in front of you and can't mention box so and so as they don't see the form. It makes it hard to communicate.

Also some statements and tax codes notification are on my online account yet other letters aren't. It would make sense if everything would be available in your online account.

This is an issue I have put forward myself to see if we can get this resolved as it's so frustrating trying to deal with calls from people who are struggling to fill in their tax forms when you can't see the screen that they see.

I myself have some idea of what is on the employment and self employment screens and how they are laid out/what order the questions regarding benefits/expenses etc are in, but that is only from helping family/friends fill in their forms and being able to see the screens.

Ever since online filing was introduced we have been asking for a psuedo system to enable us to follow through as the customer explains what they have input and what problems they are having, as yet we've had nothing more than a few powerpoint demoinstrators which are useless as they're not done so that you can select the various options and follow the system through as it works live.

I'm hoping that either we can get a psuedo system (though there will the the issue of cost apparently due to the need for licences), or as is intended, being able to offer live help with remote access to the customers PC so we can see on our screens what they are seeing and by using the mouse pointer we can show the customer which link/box/question/dropdown etc etc they should be selecting.

This however assumes that customers know how to get their IP address etc and are happy for us to have remote access to their PC/Laptop etc.

It's not just limited to looking at the return either, just being able to log in is a farce as again we have no pseudo system to show us the screens that pop up when a person is trying to register or log in (especially when logging in for the first time).

We'll just have to wait and see what comes of my suggestions.

WHA

Easier would be to have two viewing options, both for the person filling it in and the HMRC officer, where you can both see the "paper" tax return and supplementary sections rather than the current "question and answer" follow through structure. That way you can both click to view the "paper return" on screen and then you can both talk in terms of box numbers etc.

This is exactly what several of the professional tax software systems do that are used by accountants. The one I use at the moment allows data entry via a question & answer system or you can enter data directly into the boxes on a screen image of the forms themselves. Can't understand why HMRC themselves don't have that kind of set up when the software firms have been doing it for years.

dori2o

WHA wrote: »

Easier would be to have two viewing options, both for the person filling it in and the HMRC officer, where you can both see the "paper" tax return and supplementary sections rather than the current "question and answer" follow through structure. That way you can both click to view the "paper return" on screen and then you can both talk in terms of box numbers etc.

This is exactly what several of the professional tax software systems do that are used by accountants. The one I use at the moment allows data entry via a question & answer system or you can enter data directly into the boxes on a screen image of the forms themselves. Can't understand why HMRC themselves don't have that kind of set up when the software firms have been doing it for years.

Cost.

The problem is the HMRC, in fact virtually no Gov department, has their own IT done in house, it is tendered out to the most economic option and they provide the systems.

In the majority of cases the developers are given 2 things, 1, the current legislation (an overview of) regarding the system being developed, 2, a brief of what they want ther system to do. The developer builds the system and as part of the contract either they themselves provide the updates for future versions/revisions that are needed following legislation changes, or the provide the necessary code to whoever the Departments official IT service provider is.

I agree with you that it would be better to now re-evaluate the system using one of the companies that builds the systems that the agents use. At least then there would be some continuity between the 2.

However, with SA about to go through some dramatic changes I doubt the system will be changed now, especially as it's likely that a large number of people won't have to use the system for much longer.

richardawaller

For a start I'd love to see HMRC and the government to not make a distinction between tax avoidance and tax evasion, and taking corporate tax affairs as seriously as they do the minor issue of benefit fraud...

On a more realistic note, a small but effective way of saving money would be to stop sending me letters telling me nothing new. I get letters telling me what I've paid in tax although my pay slips tell me that. I get letters telling me that I don't owe any tax and as I'm on PAYE with no assets I'd be surprised to find out if I did. I get letters telling me what my tax code is, and as someone on a below "average" income who's unlikely to treble his salary overnight it does feel like stating the obvious. Often these pointless letters come in twos and threes at a time and it's just a waste of resources and it adds up, dread to imagine what they waste on postage year in year out.

DebbieR

Dori2o

On the point of seeing the screen the caller sees when he's trying to complete an online return, do call centres have the option to use OTRSA(I think it's online tax return simulation application or something like that). You can see a simulation of the screen(not the actual caller's screen) and input the caller's figures onto it so you can see where the errors are. We were able to use it when we were a flex site last year.