The taxman’s ability to collect debts is being undermined by outdated computer systems, according to a committee of MPs.
IT Systems at HM Revenue & Customs “do not provide essential information”, the Public Accounts Committee said.
Latest estimates suggest that £11.2bn of the £27.7bn owed in March this year is unlikely to be collected.
The committee says investing in new IT systems at HMRC would reduce the amount of tax that is owed but never paid.
“HMRC’s efforts to recover debt are being hampered by its IT systems, which do not provide essential information such as a profile of debt across taxes,” said chairman of the committee Edward Leigh.
“The money needed to upgrade IT systems would be well spent if it were outweighed by the amount of additional tax recovered.
“Delays in introducing new IT systems have contributed towards backlogs in processing tax cases and have led to staff resources being diverted at critical times.”
There is a backlog of 17 million PAYE cases awaiting processing that will not be cleared until new systems are fully operational in April next year, he added.
People who read this article also read...
