“Great shame” that HMRC to close helpline for six months a year from April
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is closing down much of its telephone help services for months, as part of a push to make peope use its website instead.
The tax authority has announced that:
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between April and September, the Self Assessment helpline will be closed and customers will be directed to self-serve through HMRC’s highly-rated online services
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between October and March the Self Assessment helpline will be open to deal with priority queries – customers with queries that can be quickly and easily resolved online will be directed to HMRC’s online services
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the VAT helpline will be open for 5 days every month ahead of the deadline for filing VAT returns – outside of this time, customers will be directed to use HMRC’s online services
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the PAYE helpline will no longer take calls from customers relating to refunds – customers will be directed to use HMRC’s online services
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HMRC advisers will continue to always be available during normal office opening hours to support customers who cannot use online services or who have health or personal circumstances that mean they need extra support
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all other helplines will continue to operate as they do currently
Chair of the Treasury Select Committee Harriett Baldwin MP isn’t impressed, saying:
“It is a great shame that HMRC have decided now is the time to essentially close down any avenues for people to contact them over the phone for huge parts of the year. I say once again, these are well-meaning people just trying to get their taxes right.
“We’ve heard time and time again that every effort is being made to direct people to resolve issues online. The Committee welcomes efforts to make the tax system more efficient but HMRC has not yet demonstrated that the department or the public are ready to make such a monumental change to how they resolve tax issues. This should not be forced upon taxpayers until there is evidence that people know how to do their taxes on HMRC’s incredibly complex website.”
A report last month showed that customer service levels at HM Revenue and Customs have sunk to an “all-time low”, with customers suffering long call-waiting times due to high demand….
Key events
HMRC: This will help modernise the tax system
HMRC says its push towards online self-service for Self Assessment and VAT is “a vital element” of the modernisation of the tax system.
Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Second Permanent Secretary and Deputy Chief Executive, said:
Online services have transformed our lives and often provide a better service for managing tax – they’re quicker, easier and always available.
Changing our services to encourage customers to self-serve online wherever possible will allow our helpline advisers to focus support where it is most needed – helping those with complex tax queries and those who are vulnerable and need extra support.
We must maximise every pound of taxpayers‘ money. Embracing online self-service allows us to help more customers and improve our customer service levels without spending additional public money.
“Great shame” that HMRC to close helpline for six months a year from April
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is closing down much of its telephone help services for months, as part of a push to make peope use its website instead.
The tax authority has announced that:
-
between April and September, the Self Assessment helpline will be closed and customers will be directed to self-serve through HMRC’s highly-rated online services
-
between October and March the Self Assessment helpline will be open to deal with priority queries – customers with queries that can be quickly and easily resolved online will be directed to HMRC’s online services
-
the VAT helpline will be open for 5 days every month ahead of the deadline for filing VAT returns – outside of this time, customers will be directed to use HMRC’s online services
-
the PAYE helpline will no longer take calls from customers relating to refunds – customers will be directed to use HMRC’s online services
-
HMRC advisers will continue to always be available during normal office opening hours to support customers who cannot use online services or who have health or personal circumstances that mean they need extra support
-
all other helplines will continue to operate as they do currently
Chair of the Treasury Select Committee Harriett Baldwin MP isn’t impressed, saying:
“It is a great shame that HMRC have decided now is the time to essentially close down any avenues for people to contact them over the phone for huge parts of the year. I say once again, these are well-meaning people just trying to get their taxes right.
“We’ve heard time and time again that every effort is being made to direct people to resolve issues online. The Committee welcomes efforts to make the tax system more efficient but HMRC has not yet demonstrated that the department or the public are ready to make such a monumental change to how they resolve tax issues. This should not be forced upon taxpayers until there is evidence that people know how to do their taxes on HMRC’s incredibly complex website.”
A report last month showed that customer service levels at HM Revenue and Customs have sunk to an “all-time low”, with customers suffering long call-waiting times due to high demand….
Government minded to refer UAE-Telegraph sale to Phase 2 probe
Newsflash: the UK’s culture secretary is minded to refer the takeover of the Telegraph newspaper by an United Arab Emirates-backed consortium to a full-scale review by competition authorities.
In a written statement Lucy Frazer, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, says she has considered the views of regulators Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), adding:
On the basis of the regulators’ assessments, I can now confirm that I am minded to refer this merger to a Phase 2 investigation on the grounds of the need for accurate presentation of news and free expression of newspapers.
A phase 2 investigation could probably take several months, meaning the deal could be scuppered by new legislation to ban foreign state ownership of newspapers.
Fraser explains that Ofcom has found that the deal could operate against the public interest, and allow the influencing of the accurate presentation of news and free expression of opinion in the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph newspapers.
Fraser says she will give the relevant parties until 25 March to make representations before reaching a final decision.
Harvey Nichols to axe dozens of jobs in head office overhaul
Harvey Nichols has launched a major shake-up of its operations, with plans to cut dozens of head office jobs, PA Media reports.
The historic department store chain said less than 5% of workers are at risk of redundancy as result.
It understood this will affect around 60 London-based employees, subject to a consultation process.
Over at the high court, Tesco has lost an appeal against a ruling that its blue and yellow Clubcard loyalty scheme logo infringes a trademark held by rival Lidl.
The UK’s largest supermarket chain had appealed against a ruling in April 2023 that it had infringed Lidl’s trade marks, committed passing off and infringed Lidl’s copyright in the Mark with Text as an artistic work.
Today, three high court judges upheld the original ruling
But Tesco did have some success, it has won its appeal against the finding that it infringed Lidl’s copyright on its logo, which shows a yellow circle edged in red on a square blue background.
One judge explained that:
“Tesco have not copied at least two of the elements that make [Lidl’s logo] original, namely the shade of blue and the distance between the circle and the square.”
The yen has also slipped against the pound today.
Sterling has risen by 0.5%, to 190.7 yen to the pound, near the eight-year high of 191.32.
For the first time in almost two years, investors do not see a recession in Europe on the horizon, according to Bank of America’s latest survey of Fund Managers.
It found that a net 21% of respondents expect a stronger economy in Europe over the coming twelve months, up from a net 11% that expected a further weakening last month.
BofA adds:
The share who thinks US growth will stay robust, helped by resilient consumption, stands at 58%, little changed from last month but up from 28% in January.
62% think a soft landing is the most likely outcome for the global economy, with 23% in the no-landing camp, up from 19% last month and 6% in December.
In the crypto world, bitcoin is having a choppy day – it’s down over 6% at $63,250.
Crypto exchange BitMEX is investigating why bitcoin experienced a flash crash on its platform, which briefly knocked it down to $8,900
BitMEX says it is looking into some unusual trading activity, and says there were some some unusually large sell orders…..
The foreign exchange market has thumbed its nose at the Bank of Japan, by pushing the yen down below 150 to the dollar, says Kit Juckes, strategist at French bank Société Générale, who adds:
I’m disappointed by the market reaction to the BoJ, because there’s a good chance this eventually proves to be a pivotal moment for Japan and the BoJ.
Deflation is over, real wages are rising, and maybe the equity market appreciates the long-term implications in a way the FX market doesn’t.
Economic expectations for Germany “significantly improving” as rate cut hopes build
Economic confidence in Germany has picked up, even though conditions in Europe’s largest economy remain tough.
Economic institute ZEW has reported that this Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany has risen to 31.7 points in March, up 11.8 points on February.
However, its indicator for Germany’s current economic situation barely changed, rising by 1.2 points to -80.5.
Germany is on the brink of recession; its economy shrank by 0.3% in the final quarter of last year, having stagnated for the previous six months.
Despite that, ZEW president professor Achim Wambach says hopes of lower interest rates are lifting confidence:
“Economic expectations for Germany are significantly improving. At the same time, more than 80 per cent of those surveyed anticipate that the ECB will cut interest rates in the next six months.
This could explain the more optimistic outlook for the German construction industry. The German export sector benefits from the increased economic expectations for China as well as the expected depreciation of the dollar against the euro.
Meanwhile, the assessment of the economic situation remains at a very low level. This development somewhat diminishes the increased economic expectations.”
Back in the UK, housebuilder Crest Nicholson has guided that it could construct 10% fewer homes this financial year.
Crest Nicholson says it expects to complete between 1,800 and 2,000 homes in the 2024 financial year, down from 2020 in 2023, citing “the low level of reservations in the first two months of the financial year”.
Sales prices are expected to remain stable this year, it adds.
Crest Nicholson adds that it has discovered build defects at four sites, which will cost up to £15m to fix.
The head of Japan’s biggest business lobby has welcomed today’s rise in interest rates, saying he Bank of Japan has made “the appropriate policy decision at the appropriate time.”
Masakazu Tokura, chairman of Keidanren, told reporters:
“I think the BOJ has caught the indications that a virtuous cycle between wages and prices has started.”
DFS cuts guidance after furniture demand weakens
Sofa retailer DFS has warned that demand has weakened, as it cuts its sales and profit targets for this year.
DFS told shareholders that market demand has weakened significantly over the last two months, with orders across the market down 16% year-on-year in January and February.
DFS says its gross sales have fallen by 5.6% year on year, with orders down 1.1%, a sign that consumers are cutting back on big-ticket items.
As a result, it has cut its guidance for pre-tax profits this year by £10m, to £20m-£25m.
Its revenue forecast has been cut by up to £65m, to £1bn to £1.015bn, although this excludes the risk of more delays to shipments in the Red Sea.
DFS adds:
If the Red Sea issues continue through to our year end, potential delivery delays could result in up to £4m of profit being deferred into our following financial year.