MPs on the Public Accounts Committee questioned the HMRC leadership team about how they will deal with government calls to cut spending, reduce tax fraud and improve service levels at a hearing today.

HMRC chief executive Jim Harra said: ‘As things stand we still have our budgets based on the 2020 spending review. In June we were challenged to cut the size of the Civil Service; in the case of HMRC our plans bring us back to 2016 levels.

‘We will make efficiencies wherever we possibly can – the main way is to continue digitalising tax system so customers do not need to contact us by old systems. We’ve been leading work in the meantime on what else we can do. We are looking at whether we can go further by 2025 and we are prioritising how we can automate more of the personal income tax system and what scope there is for us to go further.’

PAC c