According to figures obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from think tank Parliament Street, HMRC’s spend on data specialist staff has increased 192% over the last four years.

The tax authority steadily increased its annual spend on its data specialist staff going from an annual spend of £4.2m in 2017, to £5.5m in 2018, £6.4m in 2019, to £9m in 2020.

The data also revealed that the tax authority hired an additional 78 staff in data roles between 2020-21, resulting in an estimated staff bill rise of over £3.3m, which is the largest increase in the last four years.  

The spike in hiring coincided with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic which saw HMRC’s digital capacity grow and also comes as the UK edges closer to the extension of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT which is to be introduced for all VAT registered businesses from April.