HMRC ‘should be banned from misleading Parliament’
HMRC has been accused of misleading Parliament, its MPs and the public after it inaccurately suggested it was collecting billions of pounds in extra taxes.
One expert, Sir Andrew Dilnot, wants the taxman to be banned from confirming how much revenue it collects in the wake of the scandal.
In the 2011/12 tax year, as well as 2012/13, the body insisted it had exceeded its targets for tax revenue collection by £1.9 billion – a figure that was proven to be false.
But Sir Andrew has said that establishing a new body is an astute decision, as such a calculation can be exceptionally difficult to make.
“Given the complexity of these estimates, it would be helpful if future tax compliance figures were released as official statistics.”
Since news of the scandal came to light, the head of HMRC, Lin Homer, has apologised.
The chancellor has been under a lot of pressure recently to show his deficit plan is working.