The Treasury’s ‘red book’ states that ‘by the end of this Parliament, HMRC’s digital transformation will have made it quicker and easier for customers to report and pay their taxes online. But the government recognises that more needs to be done now.’

The money is to be spent on providing a 7-day a week service by 2017, with extended hours and Sunday opening on online services and the tax and tax credits phone lines, so that people and businesses have more opportunity to contact HMRC outside of working hours.

There is also the promised of improved telephone services and reduced call waiting times, with the recruitment of over 800 new staff into HMRC call centres, and the introduction of a dedicated phone line and online forum for new businesses and self-employed individuals to get help and support about filing and paying their taxes for the first time, and on the transition to using digital services.

Chris Jones, CIOT president, said: ‘This investment is a definite step in the right direction. It is imperative that it puts a stop to the decline in service standards at HMRC that we have witnessed over the last few years, and which we feared would be affected even further by the reductions in resources at HMRC announced at the time of the Autumn Statement. 

‘This investment will be essential to help taxpayers get to grips with their new digital reporting requirements as HMRC’s Making Tax Digital programme is rolled out over the next 4 years.  If Making Tax Digital is to proceed as planned, and on time, then the government must make sufficient resources available to ensure that high quality education and support is available to every taxpayer who needs it.’