HMRC’s customer service performance

ICAEW participated in the first regular meeting of a new HMRC forum – Customer Services Tax Agents and Representative Bodies working group (CSTARB) – which is looking at options for how HMRC handles telephone, webchat and postal contact from agents. 

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) and ICAEW joint report Tackling HMRC’s customer service challenge continues to get traction, with requests to present the findings to the Representative Bodies Steering Group (RBSG) and to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (XST). The recommendations are seen as very useful for the discussions at CSTARB and the Agent Digital Design Advisory Group (ADDAG), where the gaps in digital services are being followed up.

Read this month’s following the numbers article for the latest position on HMRC’s customer services performance. 

Making Tax Digital (MTD)

MTDlive, a flagship in-person event at Chartered Accountants’ Hall on 28 April 2025, was launched and is already close to capacity attendance. ICAEW continues to develop other support for members on MTD for income tax and to engage with HMRC on its implementation plan, guidance and communications. Why not test your knowledge, and perhaps record some verifiable CPD, by taking our MTD quiz?

The Tax Faculty is in discussions with HMRC about outstanding MTD income tax design and policy issues, in particular whether the final tax return will need to be completed wholly within commercial software.

Tax simplification

I attended a round table with the XST on tax simplification and the tax policymaking process. The government is keen to announce a package of simplification measures in the Spring, but the parameters are restrictive in terms of costs and time to implement (ie, not requiring legislative change or exchequer cost). It was agreed to revisit simplification ideas previously suggested to HMRC/HMT.

E-invoicing consultation

Ed Saltmarsh, the faculty’s Technical Manager for VAT and Customs, attended a round table with the XST and Gareth Thomas MP to discuss the launch of the government’s e-invoicing consultation. Saltmarsh welcomed the consultation, noting the clear benefits of e-invoicing, but stressed the importance of supporting small and medium-sized businesses with implementation, and aligning UK e-invoicing with international standards. The consultation will close on 7 May 2025. Please send any comments to ed.saltmarsh@icaew.com.

Meetings with HMRC

During the month we attended a number of meetings with HMRC, some in conjunction with other representative bodies. These included:

• Issues overview group;
• RBSG; and
• Joint customs consultative committee.

In addition to the meeting with the XST to discuss tax simplification, faculty staff also met with HMRC staff to consider possible tax simplification measures ahead of the proposed Spring Statement and how the professional bodies might support HMRC’s work to identify the causes of the tax gap and how it might be closed. 

PCRT

The Tax Faculty continues to work with the other professional bodies to revise professional conduct in relation to taxation (PCRT) to reflect the forthcoming changes to the ethical code on tax planning published by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA). The revisions also need to reflect the changes about to be made to the existing ICAEW ethical code – see the ICAEW Insights article New ICAEW Code of Ethics explained: impact of technology published on 12 February 2025. 

The scope of the changes is rather wider than just technology and includes some changes to the fundamental principles, including the need for members to adopt an enquiring mindset. In addition, there is a strengthening of the rules on confidentiality, which need to be now reflected in the revised PCRT. A revised draft is currently under consideration by the professional bodies.

Separately, working groups are also considering new and updated topical guidance on three areas which would sit alongside the PCRT – namely a revision to the guidance on the provision of research and development services and two new guidance sheets on the use of artificial intelligence in providing tax services and MTD. 

Representational and policy work

The Tax Faculty finalised several representations in the month, which are listed below. This includes a representation in which ICAEW set out a number of outstanding issues and questions for HMRC with regard to the government’s plans to mandate payrolling of benefits in kind from April 2026. ICAEW is concerned that this may not be the most cost-effective approach for businesses, when compared to improving form P11D to enable better processing of data. Our TAXwire article has more details. 

On employment tax and national insurance contributions, representations were made in October 2024 by Tax Faculty staff concerning the challenges that overseas businesses face to register for the construction industry scheme when they do not have an existing HMRC reference number. HMRC confirmed in response that it would be changing its processes to include a workaround for agents when submitting forms 64-8. Read more in our TAXwire article. 

Representations and TAXguides

The Tax Faculty has published the following representations:

Representation 11/25: The tax treatment of carried interest – consultation on qualifying conditions (from 6 April 2026)

Representation 19/25: Mandatory Payrolling of Benefits in Kind

Representation 20/25: Personal tax offshore anti-avoidance legislation – call for evidence

Tax Faculty meetings

During the month there were meetings of the Tax Policy and Reputation Committee and the Tax Faculty Board. 

Faculty webinars, events and podcasts

Our monthly podcast series The Tax Track continues to gather new listeners and get good feedback and engagement. The latest episode was on the topic of ICAEW’s role as an improvement regulator, with a particular focus on tax disciplinary cases. The webinar was hosted by Lindsey Wicks, Senior Technical Manager, Tax Policy, with contributions from Sophie Wales, Director of Regulatory Policy, and Katherine Ford, Technical Manager, Tax.