The latest report into HMRC performance released by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) paints a dismal picture of declining service standards, described as reaching an 'all-time low', with long waits on phone lines where they have not been cut, a rising number of taxpayers with complex issues, and HMRC’s insistence that taxpayers use the website to resolve their problems.

MPs also said that HMRC and Treasury have made a ‘conscious choice‘ to reduce the amount of telephone support and advisers on the lines, despite demand rising by 10% and taxpayers facing increasingly complex tax scenarios which they are unable to resolve online.

MPs said this was the fifth consecutive year of decline with 63% of callers waiting more than 10 minutes to speak to an adviser in 2022-23, up from less than half at 46% the previous year.